Poster 40: Comparison of constraint-induced language therapy and traditional therapy in the rehabilitation of chronic aphasia: preliminary findings

Objectives: To compare constraint-induced language therapy (CILT) to a more traditional multimodality intervention for rehabilitation of chronic aphasia. Design: Nonrandomized control trial, within-subject comparisons. Setting: Outpatient rehabilitation. Participants: 9 subjects with chronic nonfluent aphasia >2 years poststroke. Intervention: 2 groups (n=4) were treated using key CILT principles: massed practice, constraint of other communication modalities, and forced use of language through the application of visual barriers in a supported environment; 2 groups (n=5) were treated using a traditional approach, which encouraged all modes of communication: verbal and nonverbal. Both groups received treatment 3h/d, 4d/wk for 2 consecutive weeks. Main Outcomes Measures: Western Aphasia Battery, Boston Naming Test, Action Naming Test, and linguistic analyses. Results: Although participants in both groups evinced positive outcomes posttreatment, CILT subjects showed increased performance on more measures than the traditional subjects. Conclusions: Findings support the notion that persons with chronic nonfluent aphasia may make substantial, measurable change in language after intensive CILT. Progress observed in both groups suggests intensity may be an important factor in the positive outcome for both conditions.