Improvement in functional vocabulary and generalization to conversation following a self-administered treatment using a smart tablet in primary progressive aphasia

ABSTRACT

Currently, public services in speech-language pathology for primary progressive aphasia (PPA) are very limited, although several interventions have been shown to be effective. In this context, new technologies have the potential to enable people with PPA to improve their communication skills. The main aim of this study was to investigate the efficacy of a self-administered therapy using a smart tablet to improve naming of functional words and to assess generalization to an ecological conversation task. Five adults with PPA completed the protocol. Using an ABA design with multiple baselines, naming performance was compared across four equivalent lists: (1) trained with functional words; (2) trained with words from a picture database; (3) exposed but not trained; and (4) not exposed (control). Treatment was self-administered four times a week for a period of four consecutive weeks. A significant improvement for trained words was found in all five participants, and gains were maintained two months post-treatment in four of them. Moreover, in three participants, evidence of generalization was found in conversation. This study supports the efficacy of using a smart tablet to improve naming in PPA and suggests the possibility of generalization to an ecological context.

KEYWORDS:

• Primary progressive aphasia
• anomia
• treatment
• smart tablet
• rehabilitation

Acknowledgments

The authors would like to thank the participants and their families.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Additional information

Funding

The first author, M. Lavoie, was supported by a Canadian Institutes of Health Research - Vanier Canada Graduate Scholarship. The study was supported by a research grant from the Quebec Network for Research on Aging awarded to J. Macoir. N. Bier was supported by a salary award from the Fonds de Recherche du Québec – Santé.