Aim

To pilot new materials which extended game therapy by: 1. Making the therapy even more game-like through the use of game-boards with slots corresponding to different types of exercises; 2. Including different games closely linked to functional scenarios (at the café, doctor, clothing store etc.); 3. Including different types of exercises working with different aspects of language processing.

Method

Six PWA split into two teams played the language games for a total of 48 hours over eight weeks. Patients differed in severity and type of impairment.

Results

After therapy Results showed:

• 18.9% (45/240) more treated words correct in picture naming
• 19.8% (48/240) more treated target words produced correctly in describing pictured scenes
• In narrative contexts (descriptions of pictured scenes; narrating a story from vignettes) significant increases in the number and % of words used meaningfully and in the number of sentences or partial sentences produced.
• Gains maintained over time and significant in all participants
• Improvements in mood and self-confidence
• For all participants, excellent engagement (92% attended sessions), very high levels of satisfaction with therapy and a preference for game therapy over individual therapy.

Conclusion

Game therapy is a promising and effective new approach. It is economical in terms of resources since a single facilitator can support a whole group of PWA and it addresses at the same time linguistic and emotional difficulties by carrying out the therapy in a relaxed environment where participants support each other.