The effects of symbolic gestural training on enhancing recovery of spoken naming in people with aphasia: A systematic review and meta-analysis.

PURPOSE: This study aimed to evaluate the effects of symbolic gestural training on enhancing recovery of spoken naming in people with aphasia (PWA) using a systematic review and meta-analysis.

METHOD: Following the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines, article search was conducted from four databases: Web of Science Core Collection, Medline, PsycINFO, and EBSCO. A total of 45 participants from four studies investigating the symbolic gestural training effects on PWA and outcome measures of spoken naming were included.

RESULT: The meta-analysis showed a medium overall effect of symbolic gestural training on enhancing recovery of spoken naming in PWA. Subgroup analysis also revealed that the training effect was more remarkable in the gesture + verbal training paradigm than in the gesture-only training paradigm. However, the differences in the training effects between short and long duration, and training supplied with and without feedback, were nonsignificant.

CONCLUSION: This study illustrates the current state of the literature on symbolic gestural training in PWA, and serves as a reference for clinicians, patients, and health policy-makers regarding the application of symbolic gestural training in clinical or rehabilitation programs.