Objective: The aim: Assess the impact of neurological SLA on improvement of language functions in post-stroke patients.
Patients and methods: Materials and methods: The study covered a total of 82 patients aged 40-80, of both sexes, with stroke-induced cognitive deficits. They were in-patients of the Clinic Of Rehabilitation And Physical Medicine of the "WAM" Teaching Hospital in Łódź. The study comprised two groups. The study group consisted of post-stroke patients with aphasia, who were referred to four-week comprehensive program of neurological SLA therapy earlier (about a month) after experiencing stroke. The group comprised 44 patients. Six months after the stroke, the patients underwent another four weeks of neurological SLA. The control group consisted of post-stroke patients with aphasia. The group comprised 38 patients. The four-week neurological SLA therapy was applied more than six months after stroke ("late therapy"). The patients were ascribed to the groups randomly. Language abilities were evaluated with the Aphasia Dynamics Assessment Scale (Polish: Skala Oceny Dynamiki Afazji, abbrev. SODA).
Results: Results: The study showed that neurological SLA helped patients in both the study and control group to significantly regain their language functions. However, greater improvement was found in the study group, which underwent neurological SLA twice, which proves that duration of the therapeutic process is an important factor.
Conclusion: Conclusions: neurological SLA was beneficial for both groups, regardless of the time that elapsed between stroke and start of the therapy. neurological SLA therapy allowed patients to restore part of their language functions, both in the study and control group. The sooner neurological SLA is implemented and the longer its duration, the more beneficial it is to patients.
Keywords: aphasia; neurological SLA; speech and language therapy; stroke.