Development and Validation of Language and Communication Assessment Scales
Trial Snapshot
- Phase
- Not Applicable
- Status
- Recruiting
- Sponsor
- Enrollment
- 50
- Locations
- 1
- Primary Endpoint
- Communicative efficacy
Study Overview
Brief Summary
The aim of speech therapy for people with aphasia is to improve their ability to communicate in daily life. Traditional evaluations focus on linguistic tasks, but they do not fully address everyday communication skills, which are crucial for creating personalized treatment goals. The study suggests a multimodal approach to language assessment, stressing the importance of gestures in communication. It calls for the development of tools that evaluate communication in a wider context, including factors like motivation, attention, awareness, and alternative communication strategies. Additionally, there is a need for tools specifically designed to assess communicative gestures.
Detailed Description
The goal of speech therapy for individuals with aphasia is to improve their communication effectiveness, enabling them to communicate in daily life. Traditional aphasia assessments focus on linguistic processes (e.g., naming, comprehension, dictation), which are categorized under impairment in the ICF framework, while everyday communication skills fall under activity and participation. However, there is a lack of consensus and appropriate tools for assessing everyday communication in aphasic patients, which are crucial for setting personalized treatment goals. The study suggests an interactive, multimodal model of language assessment, emphasizing the role of gestures in communication. It calls for the development of scales and tests that assess communication in a broader context, including factors like motivation, attention, awareness, and alternative communication strategies, as well as questionnaires evaluating both the individual's and caregiver's perceptions of communicative effectiveness and daily life participation. Moreover, an assessment tool of communicative gestures is needed.
Study Design
- Study Type
- Observational
- Observational Model
- Cohort
- Time Perspective
- Prospective
Eligibility Criteria
- Ages
- 18 Years to 90 Years (Adult, Older Adult)
- Sex
- All
- Accepts Healthy Volunteers
- No
Inclusion Criteria
- •Patient admitted to the hospital for an intensive neurorehabilitation cycle or attending as an outpatient Diagnosis of language and communication disorders following a stroke in the right or left hemisphere Age > 18 years Ability to provide informed consent Native speaker of Italian (L1 Italian)
Exclusion Criteria
- •Unstable clinical conditions that may interfere with participation in the study (e.g., active symptomatic infections, stupor, need for oxygen therapy)
Arms & Interventions
person with aphasia
Intervention: conversational approach (Behavioral)
Outcomes
Primary Outcomes
Communicative efficacy
Time Frame: 36 months
Validity of the Communicative Efficacy Scale - Italian version: Content and construct validity assessed in aphasic patients; construct validity via correlation with established communication and gesture measures (correlation coefficients -1 to +1; closer to ±1 = stronger relationship). Reliability of the Communicative Efficacy Scale - Italian version: Inter- and intra-rater reliability evaluated using Intraclass Correlation Coefficient Communicative efficacy refers to the ability to effectively convey thoughts, needs, and emotions in a way that others can understand. It involves clarity, adaptability in communication methods, effective interaction, and achieving communicative goals. In speech-language rehabilitation, enhancing communicative efficacy focuses on improving a person's ability to participate in social, personal, and professional interactions despite language impairments, aiming to increase confidence and meaningful engagement in everyday communication.
Secondary Outcomes
No secondary outcomes reported
Investigators
Sara Nordio
PhD
IRCCS San Camillo, Venezia, Italy