Exam Bank Questions - Part 3 Flashcards
Provide two rationales for why you have chosen to administer the Western Aphasia Battery - Revised (WAB-R), rather than the Comprehensive Aphasia Test (CAT).
The WAB-R can be used to determine the type of aphasia & infers the possible location of lesion, and measures both linguistic skills (such as content, fluency, auditory comprehension, repetition, naming, reading, & writing) & non-linguistic skills (such as drawing, calculation, block design, & apraxia). The CAT, on the other hand, only looks at linguistic skills, & screens for associated cognitive deficits. The CAT also does not provide any information on the type of aphasia or the possible location of lesion.
Provide two rationales for why you have chosen to administer the CAT, rather than the WAB-R.
The CAT can be used to additionally screen for associated cognitive deficits and looks at the consequences of aphasia on the client’s lifestyle and emotional well-being (through the disability questionnaire). The WAB-R, on the other hand, only looks at the impairment level and doesn’t consider the client’s emotional well-being or the impact of aphasia on their lifestyle.
List 4 typical steps in acute aphasia management.
Screening assessment & attempt to lead to diagnosis, communicating while in hospital, education & counselling, discharge planning.
List 2 environmental modifications you could potentially make to assist in making an acute hospital setting more conducive to communication.
Reduce background noise, have resources on hand (e.g. pens, paper).
List two aims of the Inpatient Functional Communication Interview (IFCI).
Identify communication situations that may be a focus of direct intervention, provide information to other health-care staff about communication strategies that may facilitate communication with the patient.
List 4 communication situations that the IFCI assesses.
Following instructions, expressing feelings, gaining the patient’s attention, asking for something.
List 4 general communication strategies that you may suggest a family member use to assist their communication with the person who has aphasia.
Gain their attention, maintain eye contact, reduce background noise, talk in short, clear sentences.
Provide four examples of typically unhelpful ways of communicating with a person with aphasia.
Shouting, changing the subject quickly, jumping from topic to topic, treating the person with aphasia like a child.
List four potential benefits of providing stroke patients with information about their health.
Informed decision making, independence & control, reducing anxiety & frustration, greater patient satisfaction.
Provide examples of four appropriate activities that typically involve less communication which both the person with aphasia and the friend may be able to participate in together.
Playing bowls, gardening, taking photos, listening to music.
Write a brief response to a family member’s question “Will his language get better?” using appropriate language.
Recovery is a very individual thing. We usually see the most marked improvement in the first 6-12 months post stroke, but further gains can continue for years. It is very important to keep working on your language skills, to keep talking. Together we can work on your speech or language in therapy and through homework.
List 2 factors that need to be considered when deciding whether or not to commence impairment based therapy in the early post-stroke onset period.
Medical stability, cognitive stability.
List the 3 stages of functional recovery from aphasia, according to Hillis and Heidler (2002).
Recovery of impaired neural tissue in the area surrounding the core infarct (during the first few days post stroke), reorganisation of brain structure & function relations (begins within days - may continue for weeks/months/years), and learning new pathways & compensatory strategies.
What is spontaneous recovery and when does spontaneous recovery typically begin to plateau?
Spontaneous recovery is natural improvement without treatment and typically begins to plateau between 6-12 months post onset.
List 2 factors that influence recovery post stroke.
Lesion site & size, personal factors (e.g. age, & psychosocial factors)
Provide 2 stroke/aphasia specific examples of where you may source evidence to assist in ensuring your aphasia management is evidence-based.
Academy of Neurologic Communication Disorders & Sciences (ANCDS), National Stroke Foundation
What is the focus of an impairment-based approach to aphasia therapy?
The initial focus of an impairment-based approach is on directly identifying & treating the underlying linguistic deficits presented by the client.
Provide 2 different examples of tasks frequently used to target semantic processing skills (at the impairment level).
Spoken/written phrase/sentence completion task, odd-one-out task
Provide an example of a semantically based cueing hierarchy (four distinct cues & examples) that could be used to assist a person with aphasia to name the target word “cow”.
- Superordinate (“It’s an animal”)
- Coordinate (“It’s like a horse”)
- Associate (“It eats grass”)
- Function (“You can milk it”)
Provide an example of a phonologically based cueing hierarchy (six distinct cues & examples) that could be used to assist a person with aphasia to name the tarot word “dog”.
- Phonemic cue (“It starts with /d/”)
- Semantic cue (“It barks”)
- Sentence completion cue (“It barks like a…”)
- Sentence completion cue + phonemic cue (“It barks like a /d/…”)
- Anagram using letter tiles (o g d)
- Written word cue (dog)
Provide an example of a cueing hierarchy typically used in script training (include 3 distinct cues).
Phrase repetition written cue, choral reading with clinician, independent production
List 2 examples of computer based software programs that may be used with clients who have aphasia when providing impairment level therapy.
Aphasia Tutor, Step-by-Step
Briefly describe Constraint Induced Language Therapy (CILT) and provide a brief example of a CILT task.
Constraint Induced Language Therapy (CILT) uses the theory of “use it or loose it” by practicing intensively while restricting language use to spoken response only (for example playing go fish without being able to use gestures or other non-verbal communication by using a barrier between the players).
Briefly describe 2 different potential recovery patterns reported in the literature for people with bilingual aphasia.
A parallel pattern of recovery refers to the recovery of 2 languages at the same rate & degree relative to the client’s premorbid levels. A differential pattern of recovery refers to the recovery of one language better than the other.
