The Rele-Rehabilitation of a Chronic Aphasic Patient During the Covid-19 Emergency
Elisa Franzon, Cristina Rosa Ricupero, Carmine Fernando Gervasio, Carla Montuschi
During the Covid-19 emergency, the 66-year-old patient, TF, had severe, predominantly expressive aphasia, consequent to a significant traumatic brain injury that had occurred six months earlier (August 2019). He was discharged from the hospital ward in early March, after a period of intensive treatment, with the plan to continue speech therapy on an outpatient basis. The centre’s lockdown recommendations, in those days, blocked patients’ access to hospital rehabilitation services, preventing the continuation of therapy. The patient was then subjected to three months of remote intensive treatment, by means of tele-rehabilitation on a Skype platform, with sessions which were individual at first and then done together with another patient. The results of the tests administered before and after the treatment show that there has been both improvement in terms of linguistic performance and considerable impact on functional skills and mood. The greater intensity of the treatment provided by the cost-effectiveness of the tool confirms the quality of tele-practice and also provides an opportunity to reflect on the possibility of therapeutic continuity, monitoring and comparison both with healthcare professionals and other patients, in light of the constant care that patients with acquired brain injuries need.
Keywords
Tele-rehabilitation, Aphasia, Quality of life, Intensive treatment, Communicative efficacy.