Treatment Response to a Double Administration of Constraint-Induced Language Therapy in Chronic Aphasia

Purpose This study investigated changes in oral–verbal expressive language associated with improvements following 2 treatment periods of constraint-induced language therapy in 4 participants with stroke-induced chronic aphasia. Generalization of treatment to untrained materials and to discourse production was also analyzed, as was the durability of the treatment effect. Method Participants with aphasia were assessed using standardized measures and discourse tasks at 3 to 4 time points to document behavioral changes throughout each of two 30-hr treatment periods of constraint-induced language therapy. Daily probes of trained and untrained materials were also administered. Results Despite participant heterogeneity, behavioral results for each person with aphasia indicated a positive response to treatment following each treatment period indicated by performance on standardized tests, trained materials, or both. Treatment effects generalized to some degree to untrained stimuli and to discourse measures and we...