Constraint Induced Aphasia Therapy (CIAT)

The theory behind CIMT and modified CIMT was used to develop methods of driving improvements in those with aphasia.  (see “Constraint Induced Movement Therapy”)  No physical restraints are used, but  methods are used to limit the client’s use of compensatory strategies such as writing, gesturing, drawing, etc.  This treatment is the most beneficial for those with expressive aphasia (difficulty saying the right words), but reportedly can also benefit those with moderate receptive aphasia (difficulty understanding words).

Does it Work?

Here are a few studies I found.  If you know of more, or if you have any direct experience with CIAT, feel free to email me at info@rehabafterstroke.com

(click on the journal name for a direct link to the article)

A study published in the journal Stroke in 2005 examined the effects if a short-term intense language training on patients with chronic aphasia.  They received 30 hrs of CIAT over the course of 10 days.  They found that language functioning improved significantly and remained stable over a 6 month period.

Another study published in Stroke (2001) compared a short, intense treatment of 30-35 hrs in 10 days, to the same amount of treatment spread over 4 weeks.  (in other words, they compared CIAT to traditional speech/language therapy for aphasia).  They concluded that  “CI aphasia therapy led to significant and pronounced improvements on several standard clinical tests, on self-ratings, and on blinded-observer ratings of the patients’ communicative effectiveness in everyday life. Patients who received the control intervention failed to achieve comparable improvements.”

A very small study (only 3 participants with chronic aphasia) published in the Medical Science Monitor in 2008 found improvement in only 5 days of  CIAT treatment, for 3-4 hrs each day.

BOTTOM-LINE:

CIAT seems to have a lot of potential for those suffering from aphasia after a stroke.  Unfortunately, as with Constraint Induced Movement Therapy, your biggest obstacle might be getting an insurance company to pay for it.