Table 3.

Description of the core components and the progression of the HiBalance programme and the active control group programme.

	HiBalance programme	HiCommunication programme Control group
Core components	Sensory integration Anticipatory postural adjustments Motor agility Stability limits	Voice sound level Articulatory precision Word retrieval Memory
Progression
Block A Weeks 1–2	Exercises were performed with a focus on movement quality, familiarisation of the exercises and task-specific motor learning. Single task performance of exercises pertaining to each of the core components	Exercises were performed with a focus on phonation, articulation and breathing. Increased vocal loudness was established while maintaining good voice quality
Block B Weeks 3–6	Increased level of difficulty and complexity of the exercises was established through variation of the exercises within the core components and by introducing cognitive and motor dual tasks	Increased level of difficulty and cognitive load during the exercises was established by the introduction of memory games and associational tasks
Block C Weeks 7–10	Complexity further increased through task variation, by combining exercises from all four core components, and by integrating simultaneous cognitive and motor dual tasks	Complexity further increased by the enhanced difficulty of memory games, by incorporating more interaction between participants and by adding background noise