WHY INTENSIVE APHASIA TREATMENT?
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Why is Intensive Aphasia Treatment the best choice?

Intensive treatment has most often been defined as a treatment program that offers 10-20 hours of therapy weekly for a certain number of weeks. An intensive treatment schedule means that a number of therapy hours are provided in a more concentrated, compressed way – over a shorter period of time.

Consider the following example. A person receives one month of outpatient speech-language therapy at a rate of three hours per week. This is equal to a total of 12 hours of therapy. (3 hours per week x 4 weeks). At the Aphasia Center at Steps Forward, 12 hours of therapy would be provided over 2-3 days– not one month.

Is there any difference between intensive and non-intensive treatment?

You betcha! Intensive aphasia treatment has routinely been shown to produce larger effects than non-intensive treatment. A group of Italian researchers (Denes et al, 1996) showed that even people with severe aphasia did better in an intensive treatment schedule than those assigned to a non-intensive schedule. In a different study, Hinckley & Craig (1998) compared outcomes associated with intensive and non-intensive schedules among the same individuals. There was a consistent effect of intensive treatment – individuals did better in intensive treatment than the same individuals did in non-intensive treatment.

These studies, in addition to many other studies, show that many people with aphasia will make more improvements in a shorter period of time with intensive treatment. Intensive treatment produces larger effects because there are more practice opportunities in a day and in a week. More treatment time allows for treatment of a broader range of communication skills, producing an overall larger effect. Over time, traditional therapy schedules may or may not significantly improve your skills. To make more improvements over a shorter period of time, intensive schedules are recommended.

What can I expect to gain from intensive aphasia treatment?

On average, people with aphasia who participate in intensive treatment make improvements at a much more rapid pace compared to non-intensive treatment. In some cases, certain communication skills will improve during intensive treatment that may not improve during non-intensive treatment. These are general statements only, and may vary from one individual to another. See our Testimonials and Outcomes for more information.