Authors (including presenting author) :
Florence Yip Chui Yan, Ripley Wong
Affiliation :
Speech therapy, patient resource centers, medical social service, Queen Mary Hospital
Introduction :
People with aphasia often report poor psychosocial health, including reduced social participation, social isolation and lower levels of overall well-being due to their impaired communication ability. The literature demonstrates that group-based aphasia therapy provides a natural, social environment for language rehabilitation and social support to persons with aphasia. The Melodic intonation therapy ( MIT ) has been adopted to target on aphasia and apraxia of speech training. It targets to promote recruitment of right hemisphere structures for language processing for post stroke population. Singing adopting MIT and psychosocial support by social worker in group training is hypothesized to improve communication function and psychological well- being. The effectiveness of singing group in a collaborative group format has not been well investigated. This pilot study aims to investigate the effectiveness of a collaborative group for post stroke patients.
Objectives :
To investigate 1) the effectiveness of train-the-trainer program on aphasia group implementation 2) the effectiveness of singing using the Melodic Intonation therapy technique to improve communication confidence 3) the outcome of psychological well-being after participation in a group intervention involving psychosocial support.
Methodology :
The collaborative group program “Sing for the Future” was designed and conducted by speech therapist and medical social worker. Three phases of group training were implemented in 2018 with the support from patient group Neuro United. Three phrases including 1) train-the-trainer program targeting nine participants with mild communication deficit. 2) Four sessions of singing group adopting the melodic intonation therapy and psychosocial support group targeting eight patients and their caregivers 3) Four sessions of singing group led by the voluntary trainer trained in phase one targeting new patients with communication deficit. Self-evaluation questionnaire and Rosenberg Self-esteem Scale were completed in pre and post training period.
Result & Outcome :
Participants in the speech rehabilitation training group showed improvement on self-perceived effectiveness on communication and confidence level on communication. In psychosocial aspect, participants showed reduction in self-perceived stress level and increased in self-esteem as reflected on the Rosenberg Self-esteem Scale.
