It’s estimated that 795,000 people have strokes each year in the United States. Two million are living with post-stroke aphasia—a loss or reduction of language skills. This communication challenge can affect a person’s identity, relationships, and overall sense of belonging.
A team in the UMD Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders (CSD) is pilot-testing a promising therapeutic approach for aphasia. Associate Professor Sharyl Samargia-Grivette leads the study, which is integrating existing behavioral therapy with noninvasive brain stimulation.
“A big research priority right now in the field of speech-language pathology is trying to find more effective therapy strategies—or combining the therapy strategies that we have now to be more effective,” Samargia-Grivette explains.
Instructor Lynette Carlson and three CSD graduate students are part of the team in Samargia-Grivette’s UMD Neural Function and Recovery Lab working on the project. The students are assisting with various aspects of the research, from the literature review to therapy sessions and data analysis.
Carlson directs the Robert F. Pierce (RFP) Speech-Language-Hearing Clinic and has practiced in medical settings. She has extensive experience working with people with aphasia. “As a therapist thinking of the future of the profession and of people who have aphasia, this research is so exciting and motivating,” she says.
Hopeful Preliminary Results
Samargia-Grivette received National Institutes of Health funding through the National Center of Neuromodulation for Rehabilitation at the Medical University of South Carolina for this research. The pilot study includes five participants.
Participants visit the lab, located in the Chester Park Building 17 times during the study. They are evaluated for language, memory and brain activity, using electroencephalography (EEG)—both at the beginning and end of the research. During the intervention sessions, participants engage in a high-intensity therapy approach in which they must use speech during a matching card game with Carlson as the facilitator. A graduate student provides cues to the participant as needed. As they progress, the game increases in verbal complexity. Words become phrases and sentences.
During a portion of the sessions, participants simultaneously receive Transcranial Direct-Current Stimulation (tDCS). The idea is that stimulating the brain with a low, direct electric current while practicing word and phrase retrieval can help to rebuild neural pathways to the damaged portion of the brain that controls language.
Samargia-Grivette reports positive preliminary results. “Data analysis is still underway … but qualitatively, what we’ve noticed is they’re noticing a benefit from the interventions—and spouses of the participants reported that their loved ones were talking a lot more—that they had really noticed a big increase in their communication,” she says.
Haley Evans, one of the graduate students on the project, says that hearing such feedback from clients and their spouses has been rewarding. “It's hard for us as young students to really believe that we are making a difference … So to be able to hear that firsthand, it's really a strong, powerful feeling,” she says.
Evans says the experience has also helped her feel more confident as a clinician. Carlson points out that research is an integral piece of student education and future career preparation. “As a speech-language pathologist, it is important to know the research process and appreciate how the process is pushing the profession forward.”
Carlson is humbled to be a part of “research that so directly and impactfully makes a difference in everyday life.” She says helping clients “reclaim their voices” is important for individuals and their sense of belonging to the community. “If I can sit down and have a conversation with a dear friend or a grandchild, or talk about who I am, or simply order coffee by myself—that’s the essence of human connection.”
Student Testimonials
Graduate students talk about their experience with the CSD program and the on-campus RFP clinic.
Feature photo includes: Instructor Lynette Carlson, Haley Evans, Madelyn Graham, Marie Meysembourg and Associate Professor Sharyl Samargia-Grivette.