Multilevel aphasia interventions target more than one linguistic level (e.g. words, sentences, discourse) in an integrated and simultaneous way (e.g. Edmonds, 2016; Whitworth, 2024). Recent research has shown that treating multiple levels of language processing in the same intervention can broaden treatment effectiveness and provide greater evidence of generalisation and post treatment maintenance than focusing on language levels in isolation (Webster et al, 2015; Dipper et al., 2024). Despite their promise, however, there is no synthesis or analysis of multilevel aphasia interventions in the literature that might help clinicians to understand the reasons that underpin these potential benefits for clients, and then drive both clinical practice and future research. This presentation sets out the evidence on multilevel aphasia interventions and explores how generalisation and maintenance of therapy outcomes is proposed to be achieved.
Applying scoping review methodology (Vardell & Malloy, 2013), multilevel aphasia interventions were identified and analysed according to their aims, intervention components (or critical ingredients), treatment effectiveness and generalisation across the language levels targeted, along with the methods used to measure outcomes that capture linguistic generalisation and the impact of intervention on communication and participation. The findings of a systematic search across CINAHL, MEDLINE (Ovid), PsycINFO, PubMed, and Scopus databases will be presented.
This synthesis will inform our understanding as to how, why and with whom multilevel aphasia interventions may be best used in clinical practice, providing insights into the relationship between language targets, generalisation and maintenance. Equipped with this analysis of the evidence, speech pathologists will be better placed to select, design, and deliver multilevel interventions with people with aphasia, and optimise their effectiveness. Impact of interventions will also be explored to capture whether multilevel interventions make a difference to participation and quality of life.

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