SPEECH-LANGUAGE PATHOLOGY

Research for speech-language pathology

Papers a speech-language pathologist can act on — aphasia, dysphagia, developmental language, fluency, voice and augmentative communication — read in full and summarised plainly.

10,216 PAPERS · PAGE 172 OF 205 · NEWEST FIRST

• SLPOther2025Adapting and implementing a staff-led sleep intervention in an acute rehabilitation setting.Clinical rehabilitationNurses at one rehab hospital adopted a sleep-promotion protocol after training. Most understood the steps and used eye masks and quiet hours. This describes how the staff implemented the program, not whether patients slept better or recovered faster.
• PTOTSLPPilot2025Transcutaneous spinal stimulation paired with visual feedback facilitates retention of improved weight transfer toward the affected side in people post-stroke.Journal of neuroengineering and rehabilitationAdding spinal stimulation to visual feedback during treadmill walking helped people post-stroke keep more weight on their affected leg after the session ended. Visual feedback alone improved weight transfer briefly, but the gain faded once the feedback stopped.
• SLPQualitative2025Exploring Speech and Language Therapists' Perspectives of Voice-Assisted Technology as a Tool for Dysarthria: Qualitative Study.JMIR rehabilitation and assistive technologiesSeven UK speech therapists found smart speakers useful for home practice because the devices give objective feedback without judgment. However, they reported clients became frustrated when the technology failed to understand their speech or timed out during exercises.
• PTOTSLPOther2025Validity, safety, usability, and user experience of virtual reality gamified home-based exercises in stroke.Clinical rehabilitationPhysiotherapists and stroke survivors found three of five VR games safe and usable for home rehab. Users rated Basketball and Flowers as engaging but noted all games lacked clear setup instructions and guidance for therapists to tailor exercises to patient needs.
• PTOTSLPCohort2025Differential effects of sport type on brain versus orthopedic injury and sports benefits in the adolescent brain cognitive development study.Brain injurySoccer and American football linked to higher mild brain injury risk in 9-10 year olds. Climbing showed higher brain injury risk than broken bones. Sports participation associated with better behavior and cognition in children with prior brain injury, though causality cannot be determined.
• SLPRCT2025Pharyngeal electrical stimulation to treat dysphagia in acute stroke: learnings from cases in the PhEED clinical trial.Journal of rehabilitation medicineThe trial stopped early with only 17 patients, so it cannot compare treatment to sham. In the 15 who received pharyngeal electrical stimulation, swallowing severity improved, but the study cannot rule out natural recovery after stroke.
• SLPQualitative2025Patient Perspectives of a Sleep Apnea Treatment Adherence Intervention Adapted for Persons with Traumatic Brain Injury.Brain injuryVeterans with traumatic brain injury described a sleep apnea adherence program as helping them see their condition's severity and learn practical coping skills. They felt more capable of managing equipment issues and building routines. The intervention was acceptable, though symptom surveys were burdensome.
• OTSLPSystematic Review2025Cognitive and Psychological Symptoms in Post-COVID-19 Condition: A Systematic Review of Structural and Functional Neuroimaging, Neurophysiology, and Intervention Studies.Archives of rehabilitation research and clinical translationPost-COVID cognitive and mood symptoms are common, but brain tests show inconsistent changes that do not reliably predict impairment. Brain stimulation and cognitive training gave mixed improvements in small studies, so they are not proven treatments.
• PTOTSLPOther2025Building Bridges: Establishing a Multiple Sclerosis Rehabilitation Research and Clinical Knowledge Mobilization Strategy.NeuroRehabilitationForty-three stakeholders agreed on three priorities for MS rehabilitation in Canada: creating a best-practice guideline, building knowledge mobilization tools for clinicians, and establishing a national network. Five key topics were selected: disease course, fatigue, mobility, mood, and cognition.
• PTOTSLPMeta-Analysis2025Effects of Nordic Walking in people with respiratory diseases: a systematic review and meta-analysis.Journal of rehabilitation medicineNordic walking did not beat other exercise on six-minute walk distance in the main analysis. It outperformed no exercise, but the positive result relied on removing one outlier study. All included trials had high risk of bias.
• PTOTSLPCohort2025Evaluating the safety of a robotic supine gait training device for pediatric rehabilitation - a retrospective study.Journal of pediatric rehabilitation medicineNo adverse events were recorded in 280 children and adolescents using a robotic supine gait training device. The emergency stop button was never pressed. This supports safety for traction and mobilization but does not prove the device improves function or reduces pain.
• PTOTSLPRCT2025Digital Cueing With Laser Shoes Does Not Improve Walking in Parkinson's Disease: Evidence Across Disease Severity and Freezing Status.Neurorehabilitation and neural repairLaser shoes did not improve walking in Parkinson's disease. Instead, they slowed gait speed, reduced arm swing, and increased variability across all disease stages and freezing statuses. This pattern may raise fall risk, so these devices should be used with caution.
• PTOTSLPPilot2025Carnitine Deficiency in Rehabilitation Ward Individuals and its Association With Activities of Daily Living: A Pilot Retrospective Observational Study.Archives of rehabilitation research and clinical translationIn this pilot study, 8.5% of rehabilitation ward patients had carnitine deficiency. These patients had significantly lower FIM motor scores on admission than those without deficiency, suggesting a link between carnitine status and physical function.
• PTOTSLPSystematic Review2025Exploring the Impact of Muscle Vibration Therapy in Neurologic Rehabilitation: A Systematic Review.Archives of rehabilitation research and clinical translationMuscle vibration therapy can improve motor control, reduce spasticity, and relieve pain across neurologic conditions. It works best as an addition to conventional rehabilitation, such as physiotherapy or robotic training. Evidence is moderate, with many small studies and methodological limitations.
• PTOTSLPCohort2026Overall outcome, functioning, and disability in older adults 3 to 14 years after traumatic brain injury.PM & R : the journal of injury, function, and rehabilitationYears after TBI, many older adults kept the same overall outcome, while some improved and some worsened. Mild and moderate injury often meant better independence, but assistance, mobility aids, swallowing problems, and smell or taste change were still reported.
• OTSLPCohort2025Resiliency and Mental Health Symptoms Among Active Duty Service Members With a History of Mild Traumatic Brain Injury.Archives of rehabilitation research and clinical translationHigh resilience linked to fewer mental health symptoms at intake, but this benefit vanished after treatment. Self-efficacy was the strongest protective factor. For those with multiple mild brain injuries, active coping and cognitive flexibility did not protect against depression.
• PTOTSLPCohort2025Community-Based Rehabilitation and Patient-Centered Outcomes in Survivors of Critical COVID-19 Attending an Intensive Care Recovery Clinic.Archives of rehabilitation research and clinical translationSurvivors of critical COVID had poor walking endurance, frailty, and cognitive impairment, while many did not receive community rehabilitation. Those who did receive rehabilitation were worse at follow-up, so this cannot show benefit.
• PTOTSLPOther2026The Internalized Ableism Inventory: Scale development using a hybrid artificial intelligence and community-based participatory research design.Rehabilitation psychologyA new 51-item scale, the Internalized Ableism Inventory, reliably measures how disabled adults endorse ableist beliefs about themselves. It has eight distinct subscales covering areas like romance and life roles, validated in a large online sample of disabled individuals.
• PTOTSLPCohort2025Associations of Sarcopenia With Medical Events and Inpatient Rehabilitation Outcomes in ACC/AHA Stage A, B, and C Heart Failure Individuals With Disabilities.Archives of rehabilitation research and clinical translationHeart failure patients with sarcopenia had a higher risk of death or transfer to specialized care during rehabilitation. However, their actual gains in daily living independence were similar to those without sarcopenia. Screen for muscle weakness, but do not assume it limits rehabilitation progress.
• PTOTSLPOther2025Psychometric properties and clinical usability of the cognition in daily life scale in patients with acquired brain injury in clinical care settings.Clinical rehabilitationThe Cognition in Daily Life scale reliably captures how brain injury affects daily functioning. It correlates with real-world disability but not with standard quiet-room tests. Clinicians found it useful for team communication, though the 20-minute administration time and lack of digital scoring were barriers.
• PTOTSLPCohort2025Characterization of Ventilatory Drive in Community-Dwelling Adults with Chronic Spinal Cord Injury.Archives of rehabilitation research and clinical translationMost adults with chronic spinal cord injury who breathe independently have normal resting breathing drive. This drive was strongly linked to body mass and BMI, not injury level. Higher drive correlated with faster breathing rates, suggesting body weight impacts respiratory effort more than injury severity in this group.
• PTOTSLPCase Series2025A novel application of transcranial pulse stimulation in rehabilitation: pain management in refractory knee osteoarthritis - a case series.Journal of rehabilitation medicineEight women with chronic knee pain received transcranial pulse stimulation. Pain scores dropped on both knees. The treatment was painless, with only one transient mild headache reported. No control group was used, so this shows what happened, not that the stimulation caused the relief.
• PTOTSLPSurvey2025Rehabilitation Researchers Learning Health Systems Needs Assessment Survey: An Updated Assessment of Research Competencies.Archives of rehabilitation research and clinical translationRehabilitation professionals reported high interest but low knowledge in learning health system competencies. The biggest gap was applying research to advance equity and justice, with 93.4% of respondents reporting little knowledge in this area.
• PTOTSLPCohort2025Impact of COVID-19 on General Medical Rehabilitation Efficiency in Designated Inpatient Facilities: A Comparative Analysis of Patient Outcomes and Care Processes.Archives of rehabilitation research and clinical translationPatients who caught COVID-19 during rehab gained functional independence 26.7% slower daily than prepandemic patients, despite similar discharge scores. Their longer stays diluted progress. Infection control and resource shifts likely compromised care quality for this group specifically.
• PTOTSLPCohort2025Investigating Disparities in Physical Therapy Utilization: An Intersectionality Perspective.Archives of rehabilitation research and clinical translationPatients from lower-income areas and those speaking languages other than English were significantly less likely to schedule or attend physical therapy after referral. These disparities were most pronounced in scheduling, where the lowest income group had half the odds of booking an appointment compared to the highest income group.
• PTOTSLPOther2025History of Clinical Services, Medical Training, and Research for Spinal Cord Injuries and Disorders in the United States Veterans Health Administration.Archives of rehabilitation research and clinical translationThe Veterans Health Administration operates a national hub-and-spoke network for spinal cord injury care, serving 24,560 Veterans. It integrates lifelong rehabilitation, specialty medical care, and emerging technologies like telehealth and brain-computer interfaces, while training a large share of US spinal cord medicine specialists.
• PTOTSLPOther2025Exploring Integration of Support for Co-Occurring Substance Use-Related Needs in Interdisciplinary Traumatic Brain Injury Treatment for Military Service Members and Veterans.Archives of rehabilitation research and clinical translationIntegrating substance use support into traumatic brain injury rehab allowed most applicants to enter care and nearly all who started treatment to finish. Only one person left early due to substance use, with no serious adverse events.
• PTOTSLPCohort2025Prediction of Outcome in Moderate and Severe Traumatic Brain Injury: The Value of Pragmatic Estimation of the Duration of Posttraumatic Confusional State.Archives of rehabilitation research and clinical translationLonger posttraumatic confusion predicted worse 12-month recovery, especially in severe TBI. Patients with confusion lasting 7 days or less had high rates of good recovery (78% moderate, 71% severe). Confusion lasting more than 28 days strongly predicted severe disability or death.
• PTOTSLPPilot2026Service Acquisition for Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder in Rural Southwest Virginia: The Role of Caregiver Psychoeducation.Journal of autism and developmental disordersCaregivers who attended live clinician-led psychoeducation sessions reported their children obtained significantly more new services over six months than those given paper materials only. The live sessions involved interactive discussion and personalized guidance on navigating systems like IEPs and insurance.
• PTOTSLPCohort2026Relief of pain associated with spasticity in adult patients after treatment with onabotulinumtoxinA: Post hoc observational results from the ASPIRE study.PM & R : the journal of injury, function, and rehabilitationIn adults with spasticity and baseline pain, onabotulinumtoxinA treatment was associated with reduced pain scores and disability over time. Most patients and physicians reported satisfaction and intent to continue treatment. No control group means these changes cannot be separated from natural history or other care.
• PTOTSLPCohort2026Microdialysis Evaluation of Blood Flow, Lactate, and Glucose in Active Trigger Points of Tension-Type Headache Patients and Latent Trigger Points in Healthy Muscle.Archives of physical medicine and rehabilitationActive trigger points in tension headache patients showed higher blood flow than healthy muscle, contradicting the idea they are ischemic. No differences were found in lactate or glucose, suggesting these trigger points are not experiencing an energy crisis.
• SLPRCT2025Enhanced episodic memory and LTP-like plasticity in subjective cognitive decline following 10-Hz repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation.Journal of neuroengineering and rehabilitationOverall episodic memory did not differ between active and sham rTMS groups, but one delayed-memory subtest improved only in the active group. Hand-muscle responses to a plasticity test also increased only within the active group.
• SLPPilot2025Feasibility of delivering TeleCHAT: A comprehensive high-dose aphasia treatment via telerehabilitation.Clinical rehabilitationAll 12 participants completed a high-dose aphasia programme delivered remotely. Technical issues rarely stopped therapy, and support people attended most sessions. This shows the system works, but does not yet prove the treatment improves outcomes compared to standard care.
• PTOTSLPQualitative2025How recovery influences community reintegration: perspectives of persons with spinal cord injury and their support persons.Frontiers in rehabilitation sciencesPeople with spinal cord injury and their support persons often feel satisfied with their community reintegration even when they are unhappy with their physical recovery. Improving function alone does not guarantee a return to life; psychological adjustment and social support are critical drivers.
• SLPRCT2025Effects of intermittent theta-burst stimulation on cognition and glymphatic system activity in mild cognitive impairment and very mild Alzheimer's disease: a randomized controlled trial.Journal of neuroengineering and rehabilitationActive brain stimulation did not improve cognition immediately or change glymphatic clearance markers. However, cognitive scores improved significantly four weeks after treatment ended. This delayed benefit suggests monitoring patients for several weeks post-intervention rather than expecting immediate results.
• PTOTSLPCohort2025Early cognitive decline in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis and its relation to driving: an observational study.Journal of rehabilitation medicineCognitive scores in ALS patients stayed stable over eight months, but did not predict who stopped driving. Screening early with the ECAS gives a reliable baseline, yet impaired patients continued to drive.
• PTOTSLPCohort2026Patient Functional Outcomes in Skilled Nursing Facilities: The Mediating Role of Declining Therapy.Archives of physical medicine and rehabilitationTherapy minutes dropped sharply in skilled nursing facilities after payment changes and during the pandemic. This decline accounted for nearly half of the increase in patients losing function and significantly reduced the chance of major recovery. Less therapy meant worse outcomes.
• PTOTSLPPilot2025Tailored implementation of a behaviour change intervention for post-stroke physical activity: A mixed-methods feasibility study.Clinical rehabilitationStroke teams found a facilitated, tailored process feasible for delivering a physical activity programme after stroke, but all four teams only partially achieved their plans. This is about embedding support, not evidence that the programme improves patient outcomes.
• PTOTSLPCohort2025Concussion Classification in a Multicenter Patient Cohort: The Updated ACRM Diagnostic Criteria and Concordance With Physician Impression of Injury.The Journal of head trauma rehabilitationApplying the 2023 ACRM criteria to 1447 patients found 96.9% had definite or suspected mild TBI, versus 69.7% diagnosed by physician impression. Most missed cases involved patients with lower symptom severity, suggesting clinical judgment may underdiagnose concussion when symptoms are less obvious.
• PTOTSLPPilot2025A feasibility study of digital self-report measurement for brain injury patients utilizing an adapted version of the Mayo-Portland Adaptability Inventory - fourth edition.Journal of rehabilitation medicinePatients with mild to moderate cognitive deficits completed a digital brain injury inventory twice with high consistency. The tool matched community integration scores and showed that naming ability, not overall cognition, linked to reported participation difficulties. This supports using digital self-report for routine monitoring.
• PTOTSLPSurvey2025Assessing and Managing Agitation During Early Recovery in Children With Moderate-to-Severe Traumatic Brain Injury in Australia: A National Survey.The Journal of head trauma rehabilitationMost Australian clinicians managing agitated children with brain injury use general recovery scales, not agitation-specific tools. They rely on environmental changes and individualized care, with family education key. Practice varies widely, and formal training on agitation management is often lacking.
• PTOTSLPCase Series2025Sustainability of Digital Home Care and Health Care Services in 2 Case Studies in Finland: Combined Climate and Social Impact Assessment.JMIR rehabilitation and assistive technologiesDigital home care services are not automatically climate-friendly. Medicine robots significantly reduced travel needs, but video call services using dedicated tablets had a higher carbon footprint than the robot service. Clinicians should assess the specific technology's lifecycle impact rather than assuming digitalization is green.
• PTOTSLPCohort2025Optimizing the clinical functioning information tool (ClinFIT) in routine clinical practice: development of functional staging cutoff scores for rehabilitation provision and intensity.Journal of rehabilitation medicineAdmission ClinFIT scores above 192 identified patients needing high-intensity rehabilitation, while scores below 135 indicated light intensity. These thresholds help triage inpatient cases but are exploratory and require external validation before routine use.
• PTOTSLPQualitative2025Recommendations for Combining Brain-Computer Interface, Motor Imagery, and Virtual Reality in Upper Limb Stroke Rehabilitation: Qualitative Participatory Design Study.JMIR rehabilitation and assistive technologiesFor upper-limb brain-computer interface, motor imagery, and virtual reality training, stroke survivors and clinicians recommended daily tasks, sessions no longer than 20 minutes, simple to complex progression, and feedback adjusted for attention, neglect, and fatigue. These are design recommendations, not tested effectiveness.
• PTOTSLPCohort2025Persistent obstacles for return to work after COVID-19 infection - an explorative follow-up study in Sweden.Frontiers in rehabilitation sciencesMost patients with post-COVID symptoms returned to work within a year, but often in an adapted way. Women were 3.5 times more likely than men to remain unable to work. Persistent fatigue and cognitive issues were the main barriers, requiring workplace flexibility.
• PTOTSLPSystematic Review2026Considerations of race and ethnicity within rehabilitation studies for post COVID-19 condition: A scoping review.PM & R : the journal of injury, function, and rehabilitationMost long COVID rehabilitation studies are done in the UK and US with samples that are 88% White. Few studies considered race or ethnicity in how they recruited or analyzed results. This limits how much current rehab evidence applies to minority patients.
• PTOTSLPQualitative2026'I've never heard of pulmonary rehab': Healthcare professionals' perceptions in regards to chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.Clinical rehabilitationClinicians on general medical wards rarely referred patients to pulmonary rehabilitation, often because they had never heard of it or assumed it was someone else's job. Many primary care staff deferred to nurses or hospital teams, creating a cycle where no one took responsibility for the referral.
• PTOTSLPCohort2026Sex Differences in Autistic Youth Born Extremely Preterm.Journal of autism and developmental disordersIn autistic children born extremely preterm, boys showed more restricted and repetitive behaviors and greater social affect difficulties than girls. However, parent-reported screeners and cognitive scores did not differ by sex. Screening tools alone may miss sex-specific traits in this group.
• PTOTSLPOther2025Reliability of a novel in vivo optical strain assessment of carbon fiber custom dynamic orthoses.Prosthetics and orthotics internationalA non-contact camera system reliably measured strain on carbon fiber ankle braces in healthy adults. Strain was highest at the distal strut and increased with ankle dorsiflexion. Reliability was lower at the proximal strut, so clinicians should expect more measurement noise in that region.
• PTOTSLPCohort2025A comprehensive evidence-based intervention programme significantly reduces intensive care unit-acquired weakness and improves functional recovery: a retrospective analysis.Journal of rehabilitation medicineA bundled ICU programme combining early rehab, nutrition and psychology was linked to less ICU-acquired weakness (32.5% vs 57.3%), shorter stays and better self-care than standard care. Because all parts were delivered together, no single component can be credited.