The following is excerpted from the article "Constraint-Induced Language Therapy for Aphasia," Stroke Connection Magazine, March/April 2006

Our research program is currently engaged in two clinical trials related to constraint-induced language therapy (CILT) for aphasia.  The volunteers in our studies, survivors with aphasia and their significant others, have generously given their time and effort to attempt to answer some of the many questions related to the application of CI principles to aphasia.

In one study, CILT is being compared to another type of therapy for chronic aphasia. In the second study, brain imaging is being used to determine if there are observable changes in brain function associated with CILT. 

On the negative side, some of our volunteers have found the treatment schedule difficult and the intensity of the practice very challenging and at times exhausting. On the positive side, many volunteers enjoyed the camaraderie of working with their therapy partners. For example, Patrick Ferrand, a survivor with aphasia for two years prior to his participation in the study, stated, “I feel it helped to work with someone else [with aphasia]. It was good to go back and forth with Bill,” referring to his therapy partner, Bill Tipton, a five-year stroke survivor. Bill’s wife, Diane, agreed. “The small groups, where each speaker took turns communicating and encouraging each other to talk, were motivating and resulted in Bill making a greater effort to speak at home. You accomplished more in those few weeks than Bill had done in the previous few years,” she said. 

While we continue working to determine how CI therapy may work with aphasia patients, survivors with aphasia may find that incorporating these principles of constraint, forced use and massed practice, i.e., speaking up and speaking often, may enhance their continuing recovery.