Abstract: Objective To evaluate the effect of virtual reality-assisted three-level language instruction training on rehabilitation in the elderly patients with post-stroke aphasia. Methods A retrospective analysis was conducted on 98 elderly patients with post-stroke aphasia who received rehabilitation training at Department of Rehabilitation Medicine, West Hospital, Sichuan University from July 2022 to March 2025. The patients were divided into the observation group (n=49) and the control group (n=49) based on different intervention measures. The control group received conventional language training and virtual reality training, while the observation group received three-level language instruction training on the base of the control group. Both groups received 8 weeks of training. The scores of each dimension of Western Aphasia Battery (WAB), aphasia quotient (AQ), National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale (NIHSS), Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE), Barthel index, and Hospital Version Aphasia Depression Questionnaire (SADQ-H) were compared before and after the intervention in both groups. Results After the intervention, the scores of each dimension of WAB, AQ, MMSE, and Barthel index in both groups were higher than those before the intervention, while the NIHSS score and SADQ-H score were lower than those before the intervention in two groups. The improvements of the above indicators in the observation group were more significant than those in the control group(P<0.01). Conclusions Compared with virtual reality training alone, the combined application of three-level language instruction training can lead to greater improvements in language function, neurological function, cognitive function, activities of daily living, and psychological well-being among the elderly patients with post-stroke aphasia.

Key words: stroke, aphasia, three-level language instruction, virtual reality technology, language function