After a stroke, 64% of people experience language (aphasia) and/or speech (dysarthria, apraxia of speech) disorders (Mitchell et al., 2021). In many cases, these difficulties persist beyond the rehabilitation period usually offered (Zumbansen & Thiel, 2014), with devastating consequences on communication, social participation and quality of life. 

Because singing is often preserved in aphasia (e.g., Racette et al., 2006), it has been studied for its therapeutic effects in rehabilitation, such as in the melodic intonation therapy (MIT, Albert et al., 1973) and in the context of choir singing (Zumbansen et al., 2017). Singing-based therapies have also the potential to help in the rehabilitation process of speech disorders such as dysarthria and apraxia of speech, which are often associated with aphasia (Zumbansen & Tremblay, 2019). There is growing evidence of the benefits of choir singing in the progressive form of dysarthria associated with Parkinson’s disease (Monroe et al., 2020). However, there is a general lack of high-quality studies on group treatment for non-progressive dysarthria (Whillans et al., 2022).

The goal of this randomized controled trial is to test the effects of assigning people with chronic post-stroke aphasia to 12 weekly choir sessions, compared to usual care. The main question it aims to answer is: Does the assignment to a choir singing program causes a beneficial effect on functional communication and language recovery as well as psychosocial outcomes compared to usual care in the rehabilitation of people with chronic post-stroke aphasia?