| Abstract: |
Language, cognition, and communication have been found to be decreased in individuals with epilepsy or seizure disorders. Functional maintenance programs have been used for maintenance of declining cognitive skills in several different populations, but have not been researched as extensively in epilepsy. In addition, past research has demonstrated the usefulness of nonprofessional therapies as managed health care creates more changes in rehabilitation. A Family-Centered Maintenance Program (FCMP) was implemented for an individual with epilepsy, language deficits, and other cognitive impairments. To maintain and possibly improve communication in his everyday environment, a modified Promoting Aphasic Communicative Effectiveness (PACE) therapy was administered twice per week for 12 weeks by a nonprofessional. Results indicate that following FCMP, the individual demonstrated maintenance and some increases in communication; however, it is unclear if this is solely due to the FCMP intervention. Maintenance and some improvement were also found for informativeness and effectiveness, using percent of Correct Information Units (CIUs), words per minute (WPM), and Correct Information Units per minute (CIUPM) as measures. Possible implications for speech-language pathology treatment for individuals with epilepsy are discussed. |
