Speech therapy pilot to help stroke victims

A MAJOR project has been launched in the Lothians for stroke victims struggling to recover the power of speech.

The three-year pilot, paid for by the Scottish Funding Council, involves sufferers being given intensive speech and language therapy, which uses new software to examine the brain.

That work will go ahead at the city's Western General, and it is hoped ultimately it could improve the wellbeing for stroke patients across the world.

The people involved in the trial will be able to go through most of the treatment at home.

The recruitment process is yet to be launched, with patients being referred from Edinburgh hospitals.

PhD student and speech therapist Anna Jones, who is leading the research, said: "Spontaneous recovery occurs in the first three months following a stroke and this is why we are investigating intensive therapy during this period.

"The study will look at the effects of long-term computer-assisted speech and language therapy (SLT) and on patient recovery, using a touch-screen tablet computer.

"The results will assess the overall effectiveness of SLT and its long-term benefits."