Approximately 30- 35% of adult patients admitted to hospital with a diagnosis of stroke have symptoms of Aphasia at discharge (1).  Individuals living with Aphasia describe feeling “anxious” when communicating by using language, and research has proposed that this may be due to an emotional state of “linguistic anxiety”.(2)    The emotional impact of Aphasia has been shown to have a marked negative impact on recovery, response to rehabilitation, as well as psychosocial adjustment. (3)   While Mindfulness Meditation is being increasingly and effectively incorporated into physical rehabilitation programs (4), its effectiveness for individuals with Aphasia has had limited research to date. 
This poster explores the role of Mindfulness Meditation for adults living with Aphasia, as a useful and complementary technique to incorporate into SLP therapy.  At this time, Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) has been used with ten patients in this clinician’s Outpatient practice.  The results have been very positive.  Patients’ self-rating for anxiety, pre- and post- speech samples, as well as linguistic measures will be shared.

1.    Dickey L, Kagan A, Lindsay MP, Fang J, Rowland A. Incidence and profile of inpatient stroke-induced aphasia in Ontario, Canada.  Arch Phys Med Rehabil. 2010 Feb; 91(2):196-202.

2.    Cahana-Amitay D, Albert ML, Pyun S-B, et al. Language as a Stressor in Aphasia. Aphasiology. 2011;25(2):593-614. 

3.    Code C, Herrmann M. The relevance of emotional and psychosocial factors in aphasia to rehabilitation. Neuropsychological Rehabilitation. 2003;13(1/2):109–132.
 
4.    Hardison ME, Roll SC. Mindfulness Interventions in Physical Rehabilitation: A Scoping Review. The American Journal of Occupational Therapy. 2016;70(3)

THE IMPACT OF MINDFULNESS MEDITATION PRACTICE ON REDUCING ANXIETY AND IMPROVING LINGUISTIC MEASURES FOR POST-STROKE PATIENTS LIVING WITH APHASIA