Using and Modifying Standardized Restorative Treatments in Aphasia: Clinician Perspectives.

Abstract

Purpose: Aphasia treatment should be individualized, so clinicians are likely modifying established treatment paradigms to fit client needs. Little extant research describes which treatment protocols clinicians modify, how and why they modify their treatments, and what sources they use to guide their modifications. The purpose of this study was to gain insights into these issues.

Method: A Qualtrics survey was distributed through speech-language pathology-related professional and social media networks from January through June 2023. Forty-seven speech-language pathologists provided basic information on assessment and treatment approaches that they use, and 32 respondents provided detailed responses regarding their current treatment practices.

Results: The two restitutive aphasia treatments clinicians reported using most often were Semantic Feature Analysis and Verb Network Strengthening Treatment. The reasons for using these two treatments were that they are easy to administer, patients enjoy them, and they are perceived to be effective. Most clinicians reported that they often modify aphasia treatment protocols for a variety of reasons. These included matching patients' linguistic profiles by changing stimuli or the presentation modality as well as meeting time constraints and productivity standards. Respondents reported that they mostly rely on their personal experience, suggestions from colleagues, and linguistic theory to guide their modifications.

Conclusions: Clinicians often modify standardized treatments to balance their patients' needs and the demands of their settings and typically rely on personal experience to do so. In the future, more clinician-researcher partnerships and investigations of active treatment ingredients are needed to support clinicians in making efficient and effective treatment modifications.

Supplemental material: https://doi.org/10.23641/asha.27703662.