Effects of the Life Participation Approach to Aphasia on Functional Communication and Quality of Life: Self and Proxy Ratings
Open AccessIntroduction: Because aphasia affects individuals’ functioning, activity, and participation, treatment should target language, communicative functioning, social functioning, and quality of life. Many treatment approaches have been studied, but more evidence is needed to determine whether the Life Participation Approach to Aphasia (LPAA) is an approach to therapy that can target the various aspects necessary. The current study determined how participation in a program that uses LPAA impacted persons’ with aphasia (PWA’s) and their significant others’ (SOs’) ratings of the PWA’s quality of life and functional communication. Method: Ten PWA participants participated in a nine-week session at the Stroke Comeback Center that uses the LPAA philosophy. The PWA and their SOs completed the Communication Outcome after Stroke (COAST) to measure functional communication and the Stroke and Aphasia Quality of Life (SAQOL-39) scale to measure quality of life. These scales were completed before and after the PWA’s participation in the session. Data analysis determined if the individuals reported significant changes and if the PWA and SOs had similar ratings.Results: The PWA group experienced significant improvements on the COAST, SAQOL-39, communication domain of the SAQOL-39, and the psychosocial domain of the SAQOL-39, but not the physical domain of the SAQOL-39. The ratings of the PWA and their SOs were only significantly different for the difference scores of the COAST and communication domain of the SAQOL-39. When the PWA were divided into new and returning member groups, there were no significant differences between their first and second administration or their ratings and the ratings of their SOs. The significant others never reported significant changes. Discussion: The results indicated that PWA perceived their functional communication abilities and quality of life to improve following participation in the SCC program. This suggests that the LPAA may be a beneficial approach that can improve communication abilities and help PWA have an improved quality of life. PWA and SO ratings were not often significantly different, but they reported different types of changes. It is important to examine the individual items on the COAST and SAQOL-39.
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