The Effect of an Intensive Oral Reading Program on Discourse in Chronic Mild Aphasia

Background: There is limited research specific to deficits and interventions for people with mild aphasia (PWMA), although they have the greatest potential to return to work. Discourse and reading deficits for this population are well documented and negatively impact quality of life. Two treatment programs have used oral reading to target discourse with mixed success. Neither was designed specifically for PWMA. Aims: The primary aim of the current study was to examine the effect of an intensive oral reading program on discourse in two participants with chronic mild aphasia. Outcome was also assessed on several other measures including oral reading, reading comprehension and attention. Methods & Procedures: Two adults with chronic mild fluent aphasia, one male and one female, participated in an intensive oral reading program. The study design included pre-treatment testing followed by 3 hours of treatment per day for 2 weeks. Post- treatment testing occurred 1-2 weeks and again at 7-8 weeks after the completion of therapy Outcome measures included productivity, informativeness, and efficiency of discourse, rate, accuracy, fluency, and comprehension of oral reading, and various assessments. Results: Participant 1 improved on several language and cognitive assessments (WAB-R, TEA, GORT-5, BNT), discourse productivity, and reported that the treatment made an impact on her life. Participant 2 exhibited improvements in attention and oral reading, evidenced by increases on the TEA and GORT-5. Conclusions: This oral reading program shows promise as a treatment method to address discourse and reading deficits in PWMA