Effects of language stimulation on cognition of institutionalized aged people: a preliminary case series study

Cognitive stimulation programs for institutionalized elderly people show positive results, however few studies have investigated the effectiveness of language stimulation programs for the health of this population. OBJECTIVES: To characterize the cognitive-linguistic profile of institutionalized elderly and to compare their performance before and after a language stimulation program (LSP). METHODS: An exploratory case series study was conducted with nine residents of a Home for the Aged. Elderly people aged 60 or over, of both sexes, without neurological or neuropsychiatric diseases, communication disorders, intellectual impairment or severe visual or hearing impairment were included. The participants were submitted to an initial assessment through the Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA) and Montreal Toulouse Battery Language Assessment – Brazil to characterize the cognitive-linguistic profile of the studied group. Five elderly were selected to participate in the LSP, of wich only two participated effectively in the program, but all were reassessed after the program was completed. RESULTS: on the initial assessment, of the nine participants, only one had adequate cognitive performance and all presented changes in macro and/or microlinguistics aspects of oral discourse, with oral comprehension preserved. On the reassessment carried out with five participants, only two participants who adhered effectively to the program obtained improvements in MoCa scores. In regarding language, three participants performed better in the oral emission measures. The performance of the participants in oral comprehension remained or declined. CONCLUSION: The speech-language therapy intervention through a LSP contributes to improving the cognitive-linguistic performance of institutionalized elderly.