ETS Domain: Treatment

Praxis 5331 Stroke Recovery Questions

Stroke recovery items on the Praxis 5331 test your understanding of how aphasia and dysphagia change over time and what the SLP does at each phase. Expect scenarios about acute inpatient rehab, subacute recovery, chronic aphasia therapy, and how to counsel families about prognosis.

Why this topic matters

Recovery trajectory shapes goal-setting and family counseling — high-yield across settings.
Intensity of aphasia treatment is a common test target — ETS wants you to know that intensive, massed practice is evidence-based.
Chronic aphasia and CIAT (constraint-induced aphasia therapy) show up in the treatment blueprint.

High-yield concepts

Spontaneous recovery is greatest in the first 3-6 months post-stroke.
Intensive aphasia therapy (multiple sessions per week, high dose) has stronger evidence than diffuse low-intensity therapy.
Chronic aphasia (6+ months) still responds to targeted, intensive intervention.
CIAT: forces verbal output by constraining nonverbal compensations — evidence-based for chronic aphasia.
Prognostic factors: lesion size, initial severity, education, age, treatment intensity, family support.

Sample practice questions

Try answering before revealing the rationale — mark misses to retry later.

Q1.A 62-year-old with severe non-fluent aphasia is 8 months post-stroke. The family asks if further therapy is worthwhile. The most accurate response is:

A.Recovery is complete after 6 months; therapy is not indicated
B.Chronic aphasia continues to respond to targeted, intensive intervention
C.Therapy will restore his pre-stroke language function
D.Only pharmacology can help at this point

Show answer & rationale

Correct: B. Chronic aphasia responds to intensive, targeted intervention. Recovery does not stop at 6 months, though the greatest spontaneous gains typically occur earlier. Full pre-stroke restoration should not be promised.

Q2.Constraint-induced aphasia therapy (CIAT) works by:

A.Reducing all verbal output
B.Forcing verbal responses by constraining gestures and drawing
C.Delivering therapy weekly in short sessions
D.Using melodic intonation only

Show answer & rationale

Correct: B. CIAT constrains compensatory nonverbal strategies (gestures, drawing) and pushes verbal output, delivered in massed, intensive sessions.

Q3.Which factor is MOST predictive of aphasia recovery?

A.Handedness
B.Initial severity and lesion size
C.Marital status
D.Height

Show answer & rationale

Correct: B. Initial severity and lesion size are among the strongest prognostic factors. Age, education, and treatment intensity also matter.

Common wrong-answer traps

Believing recovery ends at 6 months.
Promising full pre-stroke restoration.
Choosing low-intensity, diffuse therapy over massed practice.

Study moves this week

Chart spontaneous recovery expectations by month for the first year.
Memorize CIAT's constraint principle and its target population.
Draft a two-sentence counseling script balancing hope and realistic expectations.

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FAQ

How much aphasia therapy is enough?

Higher-intensity, higher-dose regimens (multiple hours per week) show larger effects than diffuse low-intensity schedules.

Is telehealth effective for post-stroke aphasia?

Growing evidence supports telehealth for aphasia intervention, especially for maintenance and chronic-phase therapy.

Can aphasia return after apparent recovery?

New strokes can cause new aphasia. Existing aphasia can appear worse with fatigue, illness, or stress but usually returns to baseline.

Praxis 5331 Stroke Recovery Questions

Why this topic matters

High-yield concepts

Sample practice questions

Common wrong-answer traps

Study moves this week

Want 400+ scenario questions with rationales?

FAQ

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