Telerehabilitation for Aphasia (TERRA)

Launched by UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH CAROLINA · Dec 18, 2020

Keywords

ClinConnect Summary

The TERRA trial, or Telerehabilitation for Aphasia, is studying a new way to help people recover from a condition called aphasia, which can occur after a stroke. Aphasia affects a person’s ability to communicate, making speech therapy essential for recovery. This trial is comparing two types of therapy: one that takes place in a clinic (In-Clinic Therapy) and a newer option that uses technology to provide therapy remotely from home (Aphasia Remote Therapy). The goal is to see if the remote option is just as effective as the traditional face-to-face therapy.

To participate in this study, you need to be between 21 and 80 years old and have had a specific type of stroke (on the left side of the brain) at least a year ago. You should also primarily speak English and be able to give consent or have someone help you with that. Participants will have the chance to receive either type of therapy, and the trial is currently looking for people to join. This could be a great opportunity for those who have struggled to access speech therapy after their stroke.

Gender

ALL

Eligibility criteria

• Inclusion Criteria:
• • 1. Participants must have sustained a left hemisphere ischemic or hemorrhagic stroke at least 12 months prior to enrollment.
• • 2. Participants must primarily speak English for at least the past 20 years.
• • 3. Participants must be capable of giving informed consent or indicating another to provide informed consent.
• • 4. Participants must be between 21-80 years of age.
• • 5. Participants must be magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) compatible (e.g., no metal implants, not claustrophobic) on a 3-Tesla (3T) scanner.
• Exclusion Criteria:
• • 1. Participants must not have previous neurological disease affecting the brain (e.g. history of traumatic brain injury).
• • 2. Participants must not have severely limited speech production (severe unintelligibility) and/or auditory comprehension that interferes with adequate participation in the therapy provided (i.e., WAB-R Spontaneous Speech rating scale score of 0-1 or WAB-R Comprehension score of 0-1).
• • 3. Participants must not have a history of stroke to the right hemisphere of the brain.
• • 4. Participants must not have a bilateral, cerebellar or brainstem stroke.
• • 5. Participants must not have anything that makes them be 3T MRI incompatible
• • 6. Insufficient intelligible speech to provide accurate responses with discourse/naming.