Constraint-Induced Aphasia Therapy (CIAT) (Pulvermüller et al., 2001), a new treatment approach for patients with chronic poststroke aphasia (PSA), is an efficacious, short-term treatment developed on the basis of Constraint-Induced Movement Therapy (CIMT) (Taub et al., 1993) and communicative aphasia therapy (CAT) (Davis & Wilcox, 1985), as well as on the basis of neuroscientific principles and findings (Taub, 1977, 1980; Pulvermüller & Berthier, 2008). The main focus of this treatment is to practice behaviorally relevant language in an intensive way and to tailor language therapy to the patients' abilities and communicative needs. In a number of randomized controlled clinical trials, CIAT led to significant improvements in language functions, demonstrating that PSA patients show benefits similar to the effects found in the motor domain with CIMT. This article provides an overview of the theories, methods, data, and efficacy of CIAT. Finally, proposals for methodological extensions and preliminary findings regarding revised protocols (ILAT and CIAT II) are presented.
