What is an Intensive Comprehensive Aphasia Program (ICAP)?
Intensive comprehensive aphasia programs (ICAPs) are a relatively new service delivery model for stroke rehabilitation. The number of ICAPs across the country is increasing due to a desire to approach aphasia rehabilitation from a holistic and biopsychosocial foundation, while also implementing intensive therapy, which has been found to yield effective therapeutic outcomes. The overarching goal of an ICAP is to maximize communication potential and improve life participation. In short, ICAPs are multi-faceted and take into consideration the many aspects of communication needs faced by persons with aphasia and their family caregivers.
ICAPs provide a minimum of three hours of therapy per day for two weeks, with some programs providing as many as four to six hours a day over a period of four to five weeks. Daily therapy should include individual sessions, group sessions, computer or technology-based therapy, and patient and family education. Persons with aphasia and their family caregivers who are enrolled in an ICAP may receive as many as 120 hours of focused language therapy over the span of one month, whereas a person in a standard therapy model receives approximately 8 to 12 hours of therapy in the same time frame. While research of the ICAP model is in its infancy, initial efficacy studies indicate positive patient outcomes across a variety of impairment-based and psychosocial domains.
Who are ICAPs best suited for?
Recent research suggests that ICAPs are best suited for persons with aphasia who are at least one year post stroke (Babbitt et al., 2016). Participants should be medically stable and be able to maintain alertness and attention all day. In previous research, approximately 11% of persons with aphasia who enroll in ICAPs do not make gains, suggesting that the majority of people who do enroll in ICAPs make gains in language and psychosocial function. Gender, type of aphasia, and severity of aphasia do not appear to impact the success of treatment in an ICAP model.
What does the Big Sky Aphasia Program鈥檚 ICAP offer?
The Big Sky Aphasia Program’s ICAP at the 猎奇重口 is designed with clearly defined intensity parameters, a concern for client, family caregiver, and clinician perspectives, and a focus on comprehensive therapy that addresses multiple modalities using strategies and recreational opportunities individualized to the person with aphasia and their family caregiver(s). The Big Sky Aphasia Program currently offers a summer ICAP for individuals with aphasia and/or apraxia of speech (and their family caregivers) who have had a stroke or acquired brain injury.
Our ICAP includes individual, small group, and technology-based therapy, as well as weekly care partner psycho-education. We also provide weekly recreational/community-based outings (e.g., adaptive fishing, aphasia-friendly art museum tours, aphasia-friendly movie-going) to support a .Prior to beginning treatment, participants receive a comprehensive speech and language evaluation to determine their individual strengths and needs. The program culminates with post-treatment testing and a final family conference during the final week to discuss progress and to make recommendations for home programming and further services. The cost of the program fluctuates from session to session. Total costs include pre- and post-treatment assessment, all treatment and caregiver educational and counseling sessions, weekly recreational outings, and weekly hosted lunches.
During the ICAP, we frequently offer interprofessional practice opportunities (e.g., pharmacy medication review, counseling, occupational therapy adaptive equipment assessment). We also have a phenomenal physical therapy department and clinic on campus, New Directions Wellness Center, and are happy to organize ongoing physical therapy or access to their accessible gym while you are attending our ICAP.