Speech and language therapy: A treatment case series of 20 patients with functional speech disorder.

BACKGROUND: While expert consensus recommendations support the use of speech and language therapy (SLT) for patients with functional speech disorder (FND-speech), there are limited published data on clinical outcomes. OBJECTIVE: To retrospectively report the treatment outcomes and clinical character...

Full description

Bibliographic Details
Published in:NeuroRehabilitation Vol. 53; no. 2; pp. 227 - 239
Main Authors: Goldstein, Alexa N., Paredes-Echeverri, Sara, Finkelstein, Sara A., Guthrie, Andrew J., Perez, David L., Freeburn, Jennifer L.
Format: research tables/charts Journal Article
Published: Sage Publications Inc. 2023
Online Access:View this record in EBSCOhost
fields @attributes:
  recordID: 1
pdfLink:
plink: https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=ccm&AN=172758125&site=ehost-live
header:
  @attributes:
    shortDbName: ccm
    uiTerm: 172758125
    longDbName: CINAHL Complete
    uiTag: AN
  controlInfo:
    bkinfo:
    dissinfo:
    jinfo:
      jid:
        10538135
        3RE
      jtl: NeuroRehabilitation
      issn: 10538135
      maglogo: N
    pubinfo:
      dt: 2023
      vid: 53
      iid: 2
      pid: 344
      pub: Sage Publications Inc.
      place: Thousand Oaks, California
    artinfo:
      ui:
        172758125
        169986575
        172758125
        172758125
        10.3233/NRE-220182
        172758125
      ppf: 227
      ppct: 12
      formats:
        fmt:
          – @attributes:
              type: T
          – @attributes:
              type: P
      tig:
        atl: Speech and language therapy: A treatment case series of 20 patients with functional speech disorder.
      aug:
        au:
          Goldstein, Alexa N.
          Paredes-Echeverri, Sara
          Finkelstein, Sara A.
          Guthrie, Andrew J.
          Perez, David L.
          Freeburn, Jennifer L.
        affil: Functional Neurological Disorder Unit, Division of Behavioral Neurology and Integrated Brain Medicine, Department of Neurology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
      sug:
        subj:
          Speech Therapy
          Language Therapy
          Speech Disorders Therapy
          Treatment Outcomes
          Speech Disorders Symptoms
          Somatoform Disorders Symptoms
          Somatoform Disorders Therapy
          Human
          Retrospective Design
          Outpatients
          Multidisciplinary Care Team
          Case Studies
          Phenotype
          Descriptive Statistics
          Telehealth
          Male
          Female
          Young Adult
          Adult
          Middle Age
          Aged
          Adult: 19-44 years
          Middle Aged: 45-64 years
          Aged: 65+ years
          Male
          Female
      ab: BACKGROUND: While expert consensus recommendations support the use of speech and language therapy (SLT) for patients with functional speech disorder (FND-speech), there are limited published data on clinical outcomes. OBJECTIVE: To retrospectively report the treatment outcomes and clinical characteristics of patients with FND-speech that attended outpatient SLT as part of a multidisciplinary program for functional neurological disorder (FND). METHODS: In this case series, we included adult patients with FND-speech that consecutively participated in outpatient SLT at our institution between October 2014 and September 2021. Baseline demographic and neuropsychiatric characteristics were extracted from the medical records, along with data on FND-speech phenotypes, number of treatment sessions received, and clinician-determined outcomes. Only descriptive statistics were used to report findings. RESULTS: Twenty patients met inclusion criteria; ages ranged from 21–77, with a mean of 51.6±16.2 years. 85% of the cohort presented with mixed FND-speech symptoms. Patients attended a range of 2–37 visits, with an average of 9.2±8.0 visits over 4.4±3.5 months. At the last treatment session, 3 patients were asymptomatic, 15 had improved, and 2 had not improved; 8 individuals that improved received video telehealth interventions. CONCLUSION: This case series lends additional support for outpatient SLT in the assessment and management of individuals with FND-speech, and may help clarify patient and provider treatment expectations. Additional prospective research is needed to investigate baseline predictors of treatment response and further define the optimal frequency, intensity, duration, and clinical setting for SLT delivery in this population.
      pubtype: Academic Journal
      doctype:
        research
        tables/charts
        Journal Article
      ougenre: Article
    language: English
    refInfo:
    holdings:
      @attributes:
        islocal: N