Abstract
Numerous previous studies exist that examine the long-term progress of aphasia from various points of view. However, few well-designed studies have been conducted to investigate long-term assessment of aphasia that includes a period of language therapy interruption. We reported the case of an aphasic patient in which language therapy was interrupted for two years and three months after therapy lasting two years and three months, and then resumed. The present study investigated the progress in this case based on general scores on the Standard Language Test of Aphasia (SLTA) and changes in subordinate items.
The results revealed functional recovery in language comprehension skills at 7-27 months after onset, recovery in oral reading and other expressive abilities at 28-55 months after onset, and recovery in writing ability at 56-70 months after onset. The progress of treatment administered to this patient suggested: (1) that recovery in language ability may be possible through greater order in language function patterns; (2) that recovery of language function may be possible even when language therapy is interrupted, if the patient receives external stimulation; and (3) that recovery of writing ability may require more external written language stimulation than is present in everyday life.
