The practice of the art of clowning by a person with aphasia: a case report

ABSTRACT This study addresses the effects of the art of clowning on the quality of life and wellbeing of a woman presented with aphasia and depression. She was discharged from individual Speech-Language Therapy due to improved language skills, but she continued expressing emotional complaints associated with communicative situations. The participant joined Palhafasia, a community project that welcomes aphasics for group clowning sessions. She participated for six months in once-a-week meetings that lasted three hours each. The comparison of pre- and post-intervention measures detected improvements in her quality of life, including communication and subjective well-being of the participant. This innovative case study provides a preliminary contribution that must be further investigated. The study points to the potential benefits of the practice of clowning to promote quality of life and well-being of people with aphasia who suffer from depression.

摘要 本研究探讨了小丑表演艺术对一名罹患失语症（aphasia）与抑郁症的女性的生活质量及福祉（wellbeing）的影响。该女性因语言技能改善而结束个体言语语言治疗（Speech-Language Therapy），但仍会在沟通场景中出现情绪困扰。该参与者加入了Palfhasia社区项目——该项目专为失语症患者提供团体小丑治疗课程。她参与该项目长达六个月，每周开展一次活动，每次时长三小时。通过对比干预前后的测评指标，研究人员发现该参与者的生活质量得到提升，包括沟通能力与主观福祉水平均有所改善。这项创新性个案研究为相关领域提供了初步参考价值，有待后续进一步深入探究。本研究表明，小丑表演艺术实践有望为罹患抑郁症的失语症患者提升生活质量与福祉水平带来潜在益处。