Involving relatives in aphasia therapy: an application of language enrichment therapy.
A programme of therapy for aphasia devised in Finland, Language Enrichment Therapy, was tested in an English version, particularly in respect of its co-operative use by speech therapists and the patients' relatives at home. Although a number of changes were recommended, the method was approved of by therapists and relatives. The majority of patients showed improvement, as assessed by the Western Aphasia Battery, over a period of less than three months with a regimen of one hour a week with the therapist supplemented by an average of five hours of help by a relative at home. These results should encourage the development of programmes such as Language Enrichment Therapy as an economic way of enabling speech therapists to use volunteer helpers.
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D001037:Aphasia / Q000628:therapy*; D005190:Family; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007802:Language; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests; D013070:Speech Therapy / Q000379:methods*