Effectiveness of Group Therapy for Post-stroke Aphasia
Cristina Flosi, Martina Daniele, Irene La Rosa, Arianna Negri
The effectiveness of group speech and language therapy interventions for people with aphasia is among the topics that currently have less evidence in the literature. There seem to be several opinions, sometimes discordant, which often equate professional interventions with social interventions or those carried out by volunteers. However, the literature agrees on the heterogeneity of the work produced in this regard and on the challenges of analysing and comparing the scarce data usually reported. This study aims to describe a group therapy experience made even more special by the fact that it was carried out remotely. Through the description of the cases, the activities carried out and the indicators of effectiveness used, the authors intend to propose some points for reflection on the real usefulness of group treatment, on the comparison between professionally-guided interventions and autonomous groups, between telerehabilitation and in-person participation and on the role of the peer leader. A specific section will be dedicated to the evaluation of the individuals directly involved, presenting a detailed and comparative analysis between the perceived intervention effectiveness assessed through a patient questionnaire, and the objective treatment effectiveness measured with the final evaluation tests. Added value is represented by the detailed specification of the planning of the single interventions by objectives, of the modalities of implementation and of the evaluation tests.
Keywords
Aphasia, Group rehabilitation, Telerehabilitation, Cases report, Patients’ opinion.
