Telerehabilitation for post-stroke aphasia: effects on language recovery and quality of life

Purpose Aphasia is a common communication disorder following stroke and can substantially impair language abilities, social participation and overall quality of life. Although speech and language therapy is the primary intervention for aphasia rehabilitation, access to conventional face-to-face services may be limited due to geographic and logistical barriers. Telerehabilitation has emerged as an alternative model for delivering rehabilitation services remotely; however, evidence examining its combined effects on language performance and quality of life remains limited. This study aimed to investigate the association between telerehabilitation-based speech and language therapy and changes in language performance and health-related quality of life in individuals with post-stroke aphasia.Methods This retrospective observational study analyzed prospectively collected clinical data from a state-supported telerehabilitation program. A total of 61 individuals diagnosed with post-stroke aphasia who completed a 30-session telerehabilitation-based speech therapy program were included. Language performance was assessed using the Aphasia Language Assessment Test (ADDT) and quality of life was evaluated using the Stroke-Specific Quality of Life Scale (SS-QOL). Pre- and post-intervention outcomes were compared using the Wilcoxon signed-rank test. Effect sizes were calculated to estimate the magnitude of change. Associations between language improvement and quality-of-life outcomes were examined using Spearman correlation analysis and multivariable linear regression was used to explore factors associated with quality-of-life improvement, with baseline language performance considered in the model.Results Significant improvements were observed in both language performance (Z = −5.52, p < 0.001, r = 0.71) and overall quality of life (Z = −6.55, p < 0.001, r = 0.84) following the intervention. Changes in language performance were strongly associated with improvements in quality of life (ρ = 0.62, p < 0.001) and were also significantly associated with quality-of-life improvement in regression analyses.Conclusions Telerehabilitation-based speech and language therapy was associated with improvements in language outcomes and quality of life and showed promising pre – post improvements within this clinical cohort. These findings suggest that telerehabilitation may represent a feasible service delivery model within a real-world clinical context for individuals with post-stroke aphasia. However, given the observational single-group design and absence of a control group, the findings should be interpreted as real-world evidence of pre – post change rather than definitive evidence of causal treatment effects.