Dr. Robert Teasell of the University of Western Ontario has been a member of a national Canadian research team examining rehabilitation strategies for treating stroke. In a presentation at the Atlantic Canada Stroke conference in Halifax in September 2004 and in recent publications Dr. Teasell summarized the current research on intensive aphasia therapy: "Nowhere is the intensity of therapy more important than in aphasia therapy where two hours of therapy per week did not impact recovery even when continued for up to six months...... "There were eight studies that addressed (intensity) and they showed that you have to be more intensive in aphasia therapy over a shorter time. The basic message: Go big or go home." Many of the following references support the effectiveness of intensive aphasia therapy: Backus, O. (1945). The rehabilitation of aphasic veterans. Journal of Speech and Hearing Disorders, 10, 149-153. Bhogal, S.K., Teasell, R. & Speechley, M. (2003). Intensity of aphasia therapy, impact on recovery. Stroke, 34(4), 987-993. Brindley, P., Copleand, M., Demain, C., Martyn, P. (1989). Comparison of the speech of ten chronic Broca's aphasics following intensive and non-intensive periods of therapy. Aphasiology, 3, 695-707. Cicerone, K. D., Dahlberg, C., Malec, J. F., Langenbahn, D. M., Felicetti, T., & Kneipp, S. et al. (2005/8). Evidence-based cognitive rehabilitation: Updated review of the literature from 1998 through 2002. Archives of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, 86(8), 1681-1692. Coelho, C.A., DeRuyter, F., & Stein, M. (1996). Treatment efficacy: Cognitive-communicative disorders resulting from traumatic brain injury in adults. Journal of Speech and Hearing Research, 39, S5-S17. Collins, M. J. & Wertz, R.T. (1983). Coping with success: The maintenance of therapeutic effect in aphasia. In R.H. Brookshire (Ed.), Clinical Aphasiology, (vol. 13, pp 156-163). Minneapolis, MN: BRK Publishers. Denes, G., Perrazzolo, C., Piani, A. & Piccione, F. (1996). Intensive versus regular speech therapy in global aphasia: A controlled study. Aphasiology, 10, 385-394. Elman, R.J., & Bernstein-Ellis, E. (1999). The efficacy of group communication treatment in adults with chronic aphasia. Journal of Speech, Language and Hearing Research, 42, 411-419. Hagen, C. (1973). Communication abilities in hemiplegia and effect of speech therapy. Archives of Physical and Medical Rehab., 39, S27-S36. Helm-Estabrooks, N., & Albert, M.A. (2004) Manual of Aphasia Therapy, 2nd ed., Austin, TX: Pro-Ed. Hinckley, J.J. & Craig, H.K. (1998). Influence of rate of treatment on the naming abilities of adults with chronic aphasia. Aphasiology, 12, 989-1006. Holland, A. L., Fromm, D. S., DeRuyter, F., & Stein, M. (1998). Treatment efficacy: Aphasia. Journal of Speech and Hearing Research, 39, S27-S36. Kagan, A., Black, S. E., Duchan, J. F., Simmons-Mackie, N. & Square, P. (2001). Training volunteers as conversation partners using "supported conversation for adults with aphasia" (SCA): A controlled trial. Journal of Speech, Language and Hearing Research, 44, 624-637. Legh-Smith, J.A., Denis, R., Enderby, P. M. & Langton-Hewer, R. (1987). Selection of aphasic stroke patients for intensive speech therapy. Journal of Neurology, Neurosurgery & Psychiatry, 50, 1488-1492. Mackenzie, C. (1991). Four weeks of intensive aphasia treatment and four weeks of no treatment. Aphasiology, 5, 435-437. Marshall, R. C., Tompkins, C. A. & Phillips, D. S. (1982). Improvement in treated aphasia: Examination of selected prognostic factors. Folia Phoniatrica, 34, 305-315. Marshall, R. C. et al. (1989). Home treatment for aphasic patients by trained nonprofessionals. Journal of Speech and Hearing Disorders, 54, 462-470. Meinzer, M., Djundja, D., Barthel, G., Elbert, T. & Rockstroh, B. (2005). Long-term Stability of improved Language Function in Chronic Aphasia After Constraint-Induced Aphasia therapy. Stroke, 63, (7), 1462-1466. Meinzer, M., Elbert, T., Wienbruch, C., Djunda, D., Barthel, G. & Rockstroh, B. (2004). Intensive language training enhances brain plasticity in chronic aphasia. BMC Biology, 2:20. (Available online at www.biomedcentral.com/1741-7007/2/20) Poeck, K., Huber, W., & Willmes, K. (1989). Outcome of intensive language treatment in aphasia. Journal of Speech and Hearing Disorders, 54, 471-479. Pulvermuller, F., Neininger, B., Elbert, T., Mohr, B., Rockstroch, B., Koebbel, P., Taub, E. (2001). Constraint-induced therapy of chronic aphasia after stroke. Stroke, 32, 1621-1626. Robey, R. R. (1998). A meta-analysis of clinical outcomes in the treatment of aphasia. Journal of Speech, Language and Hearing Research, 41, 172-187. Tangeman, P. T., Banaitis, D. A. & Williams, A. K. (1990). Rehabilitation of chronic stroke patients: changes in functional performances. Archives of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, 71, 876-880. Teasell, R., Salter. K., Bayona, N., Foley, N., Bhogal, S., Jutai, J. (September 2004). Building on the Evidence in Stroke Rehabilitation. Presentation at the Atlantic Canada Stroke Conference, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada. Wertz, R. T. et al. (1981). Veterans Administration Cooperative Study on Aphasia: A comparison of individual and group treatment. Journal of Speech, Language and Hearing Research, 24, 580-594. Wertz, R. T. et al. (1986). Comparison of clinic, home and deferred language treatment for aphasia: Veterans Administration Cooperative Study. Archives of Neurology, 43, 653-658. Wiegel-Crump, C. & Koenigscknecht, R. A. (1973). Tapping the lexical store of the adult aphasic: Analysis of the improvement made in word retrieval skills. Cortex, 4, 411-418. For further information about Evidence Based Practice in Stroke Rehabilitation click here. Teasell, R., Foley, N., Bhogal, S., Salter, K., Jutai, J., Speechley, M. (2004). Evidence-Based Stroke Rehabilitation, 5th Ed. Module 14 - Aphasia [PDF], Retrieved 17/12/04.