Influence of type of aphasia and type of treatment on aphasic patients' pragmatic performance

We investigated change in aphasic patients' pragmatic abilities in conversation between 4 and 48 weeks post-onset. Ten patients were fluent, and 10 were non-fluent. All patients received 6-8 h of treatment each week for 44 weeks. However, 10 patients received group treatment with no direct manipulation of language impairment, and 10 patients received individual, stimulus-response treatment for language deficits. Mean conversational pragmatic ability for the 20 patients was 85% appropriate at 4 weeks post-onset. Mean performance after 44 weeks of treatment was 92% appropriate. There were no significant differences in pragmatic abilities between fluent and non-fluent patients, and overall improvement in pragmatic abilities was not influenced by the type of treatment, group or individual. However, group-treated patients showed significant change in pragmatic abilities during the first 11 weeks of treatment, whereas individually treated patients did not.