Finding a voice: people with aphasia sing out

Regardless of how severe the impairment is, "why do some people cope with aphasia better than others,” asks Carole Anglade, a professor at Université de Montréal’s School of Speech-Language Pathology and Audiology.

The condition impairs a person’s ability to use and understand language after they've suffered brain damage. Anglade is involved in a large-scale study investigating the benefits of singing in a community choir for people living with post-stroke aphasia.

“The benefits of group singing are well documented, but we wanted to measure the impact on individuals with an acquired communication disorder,” she explained.

Her study is being done under the aegis of SingWell, a Toronto-based network of researchers exploring the benefits of group singing, and is led by Anna Zumbansen of the University of Ottawa. It spans four sites: Montreal, Ottawa, Toronto and Tampa Bay, Florida.

Anglade is co-leading the Montreal component with Édith Durand of the Université du Québec à Trois-Rivières.

For people who have difficulty expressing themselves or understanding others, a community choir is an opportunity not only to stimulate and reactivate linguistic capacities, but also to socialize.

“Group singing is less demanding than conversation, so it lets people with aphasia interact socially without the language barrier,” said Anglade, who has seen a surge of interest in the activity.

At each of the four study sites, volunteer participants with post-stroke aphasia will be randomly assigned to either usual care or a program of 12 weekly choir sessions. They will be assessed before, during and after participating in the program.

The researchers will evaluate the impact of being in a choir on mood, communication and psychosocial factors such as group cohesion. Besides interviews and questionnaires, the researchers plan to film each choir session in order to track changes in engagement.

The first group of participants in Montreal has already started singing in their choir, while the second group will begin rehearsals in the fall; until then, it will serve as the control group.

“We want to make sure that any improvements in mood are the result of participating in the choir rather than other factors, such as the arrival of summer, simply being part of the study, or something else,” explained Anglade.

Recruitment in Montreal has now concluded successfully, thanks to the support of community organizations and the efforts of Élodie Joyal, a master’s student in UdeM’s Speech-Language Pathology and Audiology program.

Sixteen people volunteered, surpassing the target of 13 participants per site. This is a significant achievement, especially given the challenge of reaching people who are often socially isolated and tend to avoid social media, the phone and emails.

“Élodie was outstanding at recruiting participants," said Anglade. "When working with individuals with communication difficulties, it’s essential to have someone who can put them at ease, and she did just that."

Community associations play a crucial role in supporting the study and improving the lives of people living with aphasia, said Anglade, whose motivation to become a speech therapist herself came from an early encounter with someone who had the impairment.