ERIC Number: EJ799643
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2008-Jul
Pages: 18
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-1368-2822
EISSN: N/A
Bridging the Gap: Can Impairment-Based Therapy for Anomia Have an Impact at the Psycho-Social Level?
Best, Wendy; Greenwood, Alison; Grassly, Jennie; Hickin, Julie
International Journal of Language & Communication Disorders, v43 n4 p390-407 Jul 2008
Background: Studies of therapy with people with aphasia tend to use impairment-based and functional measures of outcome. The views of participants are not formally evaluated. Current health and socialcare practice requires intervention to be explicitly client-centred and evidence-based. It is therefore important to investigate the broader effects of speech and language therapy. Aims: To explore the outcome of a therapy for anomia using the Communication Disability Profile (CDP), focusing particularly on participants' ratings of "activity". Methods & Procedures: Overall eight people with aphasia and their conversation partners participated in the study. There was a range of severity and type of aphasia. Following two baselines (at least 8 weeks apart), there were two phases of therapy for anomia each lasting 8 weeks. This first involved the use of spoken and written cues to aid word finding. The second encouraged the use of targeted words in connected speech and conversation. Eight weeks later, after no further therapy, participants were reassessed. Outcomes & Results: Participants' word finding in picture-naming improved significantly, as did their activity ratings. The relationship between the group's word-retrieval scores and CDP activity ratings over the course of the study tended towards significance, although there was considerable variation across individuals. Furthermore, all participants rated participation in activities requiring communication higher at the end than the start of the project. Conclusions: The findings suggest that therapy which targets word retrieval can have an impact on people with aphasia's views of their communicative activity and life participation. The findings support therapists' clinical insight that impairment-based interventions can effect change beyond scores on language tests. (Contains 3 tables, 2 figures and 11 notes.)
Descriptors: Cues, Interpersonal Communication, Aphasia, Language Tests, Program Effectiveness, Therapy, Speech Therapy, Speech Language Pathology, Intervention, Outcomes of Treatment, Adults, Social Influences
Taylor & Francis, Ltd. 325 Chestnut Street Suite 800, Philadelphia, PA 19106. Tel: 800-354-1420; Fax: 215-625-2940; Web site: http://www.tandf.co.uk/journals/default.html
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A