Specific Phonological Therapy in Fluent Aphasia

Project Description Narrative:

Stroke is the third leading cause of death and the leading cause of long-term disability in adults. Aphasia is one of the most common and devastating disabilities resulting from stroke. Roughly one million Americans and some 20,000 Wisconsin residents are disabled by aphasia, and there is a great need for more effective rehabilitation methods for this condition.

This project will be the first attempt to systematically apply constraint-induced therapy techniques, based on extensive neurophysiological and psycholinguistic research, to induction to neuroplasticity in aphasia. The novel approach is intended to maximize both the effectiveness and the efficiency of relearning and will serve as a model for new. Cost-effective approaches to aphasia rehabilitation.