Does speech and language therapy help aphasia?

Yes. Speech and language therapy improves communication, reading, writing, and spoken language after stroke compared with no therapy.

What the evidence says

A large Cochrane review of speech and language therapy (SLT) for aphasia after stroke - pooling many randomised trials - found that SLT improves functional communication, reading, writing, and expressive language compared with no therapy ^{[Brady MC 2016]} .

The review also looked at how therapy is delivered:

• Higher-intensity therapy can produce greater gains, but people were more likely to drop out of very intensive schedules.
• There was not enough evidence to say one therapy approach is clearly better than another ^{[Brady MC 2016]} .

This means the amount and consistency of meaningful practice matters, and that practice should be sustainable for the person.

Practice between sessions

Therapy delivered by a speech-language pathologist is the foundation. But total practice time matters, and much of that can happen between sessions through home activities, conversation, and apps - ideally carried over from what the therapist recommends. Personalising activities to ability and preference helps people keep going ^{[Izquierdo M 2023]} .

What therapy can target

Speech and language therapy is tailored to each person’s pattern of aphasia:

• Finding and producing words.
• Understanding spoken and written language.
• Reading and writing.
• Practical, everyday communication strategies.

Ingredients that matter

• Enough practice - amount and consistency count.
• Meaningful, personalised material.
• Practice carried over between sessions.

Supporting therapy at home

• Practise words and topics that matter to daily life.
• Use apps and games for extra repetition.
• Keep conversation partners patient and supportive.

What it means for daily practice

• See a speech-language therapist if you can - that is the core treatment.
• Practice often, in small doses - communication, naming, reading, writing.
• Make it meaningful - practise words and topics that matter to daily life.

The language games (naming, rhyming, sorting, listening) and the Practice steps offer structured, repeatable practice to complement therapy.