Queensland Aphasia Research Centre (QARC)
Optimising the lives of people with Aphasia
Can we TeleCHAT? Is it possible to do Comprehensive, High-dose Aphasia Therapy on Zoom?
We wanted to know:
- Was it feasible to deliver the CHAT therapy over telerehabilitation?
- Was the telerehabilitation system easy to use?
- Do people with aphasia find TeleCHAT acceptable?
Key outcomes of this research
- Aphasia therapy via telerehabilitation is feasible.
- The telerehabilitation system on Zoom was usable.
- TeleCHAT was acceptable to people with aphasia.
Background
- CHAT (Comprehensive, High-dose Aphasia Therapy) is an aphasia therapy program.
- People with aphasia receive 50 hours of personalised therapy over 8 weeks.
- People with aphasia receive one-on-one and group therapy.
- CHAT was available in-person at STARS.
- But not everyone can easily travel to STARS to access the program.
- We want to make CHAT more accessible by delivering it over telerehabilitation.
What did the research involve?
- We personalised Zoom and technology to each participant.
- We trained people with aphasia to do telerehabilitation.
- People with aphasia completed 8 weeks of the TeleCHAT program.
- We collected data on time spent in therapy, and technology errors.
- We collected data on the type of therapy delivered.
- We asked people with aphasia questions about their perceptions of the TeleCHAT program.
Who did we include in the research?
- 12 adults with aphasia (ranged from 24-81 years old).
- People with aphasia invited support people to participate in therapy with them. Support people attended 64% of therapy sessions.
- 2 speech pathologists.
What did the researchers find?
- Yes, it is possible to complete aphasia therapy over Zoom/telerehabilitation.
- Participants with different types of aphasia, of different ages and with different technology confidence, can all use telerehabilitation.
- People with aphasia should have telerehabilitation training before completing TeleCHAT.
- People with aphasia should use technology that matches their needs and their therapy.
- People found TeleCHAT highly acceptable and would recommend it to others.
- People thought attending TeleCHAT was convenient.
