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Is Aphasia Therapy Effective? Exploring the Evidence in Systematic Reviews

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  21 February 2012

Jacinta Douglas*
Affiliation:
School of Human Communication Sciences, La Trobe University, Australia. [email protected]
Louise Brown
Affiliation:
School of Human Communication Sciences, La Trobe University, Australia.
Sandra Barry
Affiliation:
School of Human Communication Sciences, La Trobe University, Australia.
*
*Address for correspondence: Jacinta M. Douglas, PhD, School of Human Communication Sciences, La Trobe University, Bundoora, Victoria, 3086, Australia.
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Abstract

In December 1999, Greener, Enderby and Whurr reported the findings of their Cochrane review to assess the effects of formal speech and language therapy for people with aphasia following stroke. They concluded that aphasia therapy had not been shown to be “clearly effective or clearly ineffective within a randomised controlled trial (RCT)” (p. 1). Their conclusion led to much discussion among speech pathologists with some expressing grave concern that the outcome of the review would undermine the provision of services for people with aphasia and their carers. In this paper, evidence for the effectiveness of aphasia therapy that has been provided by published systematic reviews is critically explored. Clearly, challenges remain with respect to provision of evidence-based aphasia therapy. However, the weight of evidence accumulated over the years and synthesised in systematic reviews supports the broad conclusion that aphasia therapy is effective.

Type
Articles
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2002

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