Should individuals with chronic aphasia be treated with dedicated PC-based training? Considerations about a case study

Aim of this study was to evaluate the effects of an emerging rehabilitative tool ("Power-AFA" - software) in the recovery of a patient with chronic non-fluent aphasia.

A 56-year-old woman, affected by post-stroke severe expressive aphasia, underwent two different intensive rehabilitation trainings, including either standard language rehabilitation alone or a proper PC based speech training in addition to conventional treatment. We evaluated her cognitive and psychological profile in two separate sessions, before and after the two different trainings, by using a proper psychometric battery, to assess cognitive status, language abilities, and to estimate the presence of mood alterations and coping strategies. The overall PC-program was articulated in 6 sessions/weekly for 3 months.

Only at the end of the PC-training, we observed an important improvement in peculiar cognitive domains (attention and memory functions), in denomination, in verbal understanding ability, in written, in communication skills as well as an optimization of the mood and coping styles.

Computer-based cognitive and language rehabilitation, using proper and dedicated software, may be a valuable tool in improving either communication or cognitive skills in patient affected by aphasia, even in the chronic state.