A study of group communication intervention with chronically aphasic persons

Aten et al (1982) demonstrated that a group of mild moderate chronically aphasic individuals made statistically significant improvement on the CADL subsequent to group treatment emphasizing functional communication skills. However, no improvement was apparent on the PICA. The present study investigated the effects of a relatively more structured group treatment programme on the communication ability of chronically aphasic patients. Ten aphasics, a minimum of 18 months post-onset, participated in a 60-week programme that included two series of 20 weeks of group treatment and 10 weeks of treatment withdrawal. The chronic aphasic subjects in this study did make gains in overall communication ability after 20 weeks of structured group treatment, and initial gains were retained throughout treatment withdrawals. Reinitiation of structured treatment after a no-treatment interval resulted in a significant gain in communication ability as measured by the PICA. Significant CADL gains were limited to the first treatment interval, probably reflecting the broad functional communication context of the group intervention and the validity of the CADL in assessing factors of functional communication adequacy. The pattern of overall PICA improvement suggests that group treatment effected continued enhancement of the relatively discrete modality-specific communication processes measured by that instrument. Thus, while the communication treatment emphasis was broadly similar in the two studies, the careful structuring of the group communication intervention in the present study apparently enhanced the skills tested by the PICA.