Intensive Comprehensive Aphasia Programs (ICAPs): Launching the next decade of research and clinical implementation

BackgroundThe Intensive Comprehensive Aphasia Program (ICAP) is a rehabilitation service delivery model initially articulated in a seminal article featured in the 2013 Special Issue of Topics in Stroke Rehabilitation. Over the past decade, the ICAP model has experienced a notable surge in prominence, leading to a burgeoning research base and worldwide implementation in clinical practice.AimThis special issue serves as a comprehensive exploration of how the theoretical underpinnings of the ICAP components manifest in contemporary practice by presenting recent outcomes from active clinical ICAPs. The primary objective of this introduction is to establish a contextual framework for the articles comprising this special issue.Main ContributionThe introduction delineates the fundamental components of the ICAP model, offering succinct summaries of the relevant literature that catalyzed the conceptualization of these components by Rose and colleagues.ConclusionsThis introduction along with the collective works within this issue, positions the ICAP model within the broader aphasia rehabilitation continuum of care. Furthermore, it serves as a pivotal starting point for shaping the ICAP research agenda for the next decade. Specific expansions to the evidence are imperative, including single-site and multi-site randomized controlled trials featuring consistent outcome measures that include discourse measures and follow-up data points, investigations into cost-effectiveness and sustainability, and systematic examinations of the active ingredients of therapeutic elements within the model.