LUNA update: going strong

Dear LUNA followers, we apologise we have not blogged in a while. We have been busy. Here’s a bit of an overview of what we’ve been doing. We hope it finds you all well. From Dr Kate Swinburn, LUNA Project Manager

During some hectic weeks in June, July and August, the LUNA team successfully recruited its full complement of 28 people with aphasia to the 10-week treatment programme. We have a lovely range of participants: 16 men and 11 women, ranging in age from 48 to 83, from one year post stroke to 12, and across a variety of occupational and life backgrounds: company directors, lorry drivers, secretaries, dancers to name a few.

And my goodness it’s been quite a merry-go-round … first up – preparation. Carla and Lin (our assessors) have clocked up over 400 hours of assessment (so far), documenting and scoring with 100% accuracy – we’ve checked! Sarah, Richard and Gabriella (our LUNA therapists) and our 12 City student speech and language therapists have studied the LUNA treatment and the 297 page manual…. Our advisory group members with aphasia have supported therapists and students to get to grips with LUNA therapy over Zoom.

With training completed, LUNA took off in a whirl of random allocation, twice weekly treatment sessions with therapists and students, as many challenge (i.e. homework) tasks as possible, documentation, handover records passing between therapists and students, recording their successes, observations, suggested improvements, and so on – the project was truly underway. Quite a circus!

At the time of writing, the LUNA team have completed approximately more than 50 technology checks and technology ‘refresh sessions’ with participants (Zoom is not straightforward for everyone but nor is it insurmountable and practice and support have been integral to people’s success), 86 assessment sessions, and 352 treatment sessions with only 4 sessions missed due to two participants’ ill health. In spite of COVID and all the challenges that everyone is up against, things are fortunately going according to plan. A mighty cheer out to all our participants managing Zoom and their therapy in various states of lockdown circumstances, and to staff who are doing exactly the same.

Thanks for your interest in LUNA.

Dr Kate Swinburn, LUNA Project Manager