Final Bank

Question 0

You intend to administer a formal language assessment with your client who had a stroke. Provide two rationales for why you have chosen to administer the Western Aphasia Battery-revised, rather than the comprehensive Aphasia test (CAT). Your answer must demonstrate your knowledge of both assessments

Answer 0

The WAB-R has both linguistic and non-linguistic aspects, whereas the CAT only has a linguistic aspect. The WAB-R also has an aphasia quotient, which allows you to distinctly determine the presence, severity and type of aphasia

Question 1

You intend to administer a formal language assessment with your client who had a stroke. Provide two rationales for why you have chosen to administer the Comprehensive Aphasia Test revised, rather than the Western Aphasia battery. Your answer must demonstrate your knowledge of both assessments

Answer 1

CAT has a cognitive screener, to test for cognitive deficits which could potentially impact assessment and intervention, which the WAB-R does not. It also has a disability questionnaire which identifies the consequences on a person’s lifestyle and emotional well-being and can help us to establish relevant and meaningful client-centred goals

Question 2

List four typical steps in acute aphasia management

Answer 2

1. Screening assessment and diagnosis
2. Communicating while in hospital
3. Education and counselling
4. Implement impairment-based treatment

Question 3

Before commencing a bedside assessment it is important to ensure the environment is as optimal as possible. List two environmental modifications you could potential no make to assist in making a acute hospital setting more conducive to communication

Answer 3

A. Reduce background noise

B. Check the patient has everything they need, eg. Buzzer for nurse

Question 4

List two aims of the In-patient Functional Communication Interview (IFCI)

Answer 4

A. Describe patient’s ability to communicate in typical hospital communication situations that are important to providing health care and that are important to patients in hospital
B. Provide information to other health-care staff about communication strategies that may facilitate communication with the patient

Question 5

List four communication situations that the Inpatient Functional Communication Interview assesses

Answer 5

A. Gaining the patient’s attention
B. Telling what has happened to bring them to hospital
C. Understanding the medical diagnosis or reason for admission
D. Understanding the implications of their current medical condition

Question 6

List four communication strategies that you may suggest a family member use to assist their communication with the person who has aphasia

Answer 6

A. Gain their attention
B. Maintain eye contact
C. Reduce background noise
D. Talk in short, clear sentences

Question 7

Some ways of communicating should typically be avoided when talking to a person who has aphasia. Provide four examples of typically unhelpful ways of communicating with a person with aphasia

Answer 7

A. Shout
B. Change the subject quickly
C. Jump from topic to topic
D. Treat the PWA like a child

Question 8

List the four potential benefits of providing stroke patients with information about their health

Answer 8

A. Informed decision making
B. Independence and control
C. Reduce anxiety and frustration
D. Greater patient satisfaction

Question 9

A friend of a PWA asks you about activities they could do with their friend when he returns home from hospital, so that the person with aphasia can continue to participate in life. Provide examples of four appropriate activities that typically involve less communication which both the person with aphasia and friend may be able to participate in together.

Answer 9

A. Gardening
B. Listening to music
C. Going for a walk
D. Looking at artwork

Question 10

A family member of a client with aphasia in an acute hospital setting asks you ‘Will my language get better?’. Write a brief response using appropriate language. Your script must include at least four appropriate distinct and relevant points

Answer 10

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; we will work together to improve your language

Question 11

List two factors that need to be considered when deciding whether or not to commence impairment based therapy in the early post-stroke onset period

Answer 11

A. Patient should be medically stable

B. Ability to attend to tasks

Question 12

List the three states of functional recovery from aphasia, according to Hillis & Heidler

Answer 12

A. Recovery of impaired neural tissue in area surrounding core infarct (during first days post stroke)
B. Reorganisation of brain structure and function relationships
C. Learning new pathways and compensatory strategies

Question 13

What is spontaneous recovery and when does spontaneous recovery typically begin to plateau?

Answer 13

Natural improvement without treatment - plateaus between 6-12 months post stroke

Question 14

List two factors that influence recovery post stroke

Answer 14

A. Severity of aphasia

B. Site and size of lesion

Question 15

Provide two stroke/aphasia specific examples of where you may source evidence to assist in ensuring your aphasia management is evidence-based

Answer 15

A. Academy of Neurological Communication Disorders and Science
B. ASHA Evidence maps - Aphasia

Question 16

What is the focus of impairment based approach to aphasia therapy?

Answer 16

Identifying and treating the underlying linguistic deficits presented by the client

Question 17

Provide two different examples of tasks frequently used to target semantic processing skills (at the impairment level)

Answer 17

A. Sorting or matching picture or word cards by semantic categories or associations
B. Spoken or written word-to-picture matching In which distracter items are semantically related to the target item

Question 18

Provide an example of a semantically based cueing hierarchy that could be used to assist a person with aphasia to name the target word ‘cow’. This hierarchy should include four distinct cues and also an appropriate example of what the speech pathologist might say for each cue

Answer 18

A. Superordinate - it’s an animal
B. Coordinate - it’s like a horse
C. Associate - it eats hay
D. Function - you get milk from it

Question 19

Provide an example of a phonologically based cueing hierarchy that could be used to assist a PWA to name the target word dog. The hierarchy must include 6 distinct cues and an appropriate example of a each cue

Answer 19

A. Phonemic cue - /d/
B. Semantic cue - it barks
C. Sentence completion task - it barks like a…
D. Sentence completion task + phonemic cue - it barks like a d…
E. Anagram using letter tiles
F. Written word cue - write it down for them

Question 20

Provide an example of a cueing hierarchy typically used in script training. The hierarchy must include three distinct cues

Answer 20

A. 3 visual cues - highlighted words, sound of words, sight of articulators
B. 2 visual cues - highlighted words, sight of articulators
C. 1 visual cue - highlighted words

Question 21

List two examples of computer based software programs that may be used with clients who have aphasia when providing impairment level therapy

Answer 21

A. Aphasia tutor

B. REACT

Question 22

Briefly describe a Constraint Induced Language Therapy and provide a brief example of a CILT task

Answer 22

An intensive massed practice while restricting language use to spoken responses only - a use it or lose it approach

Question 23

Briefly describe two differential potential recovery patterns reported in the literature for people with bilingual aphasia

Answer 23

A. Parallel - two languages recover at the same rate and degree relative to pre-morbid levels
B. Differential - one language recovers better than the other

Question 24

Define code-switching in terms of bilingual aphasia

Answer 24

Code switching is the use of word/phrase/sentence from one language while speaking another. However, in aphasia, it might be used as a mechanism for overcoming word-retrieval problems

Question 25

Why is it important for speech pathologists who are working with clients who have bilingual aphasia to have knowledge of code-switching

Answer 25

Because we have to know that it might not be a paraphasia, it might be code-switching. We need someone on hand to tell us

Question 26

List four pieces of information that relate specifically to language use which are important to obtain when conducting an initial interview with a client who has bilingual aphasia

Answer 26

A. Premorbid ability in each language
B. Situations and purposes each language is used for
C. Persons with whom each language is spoken
D. Amount and kind of mixing in bilingual mode

Question 27

Name two assessment tools you may use in assessing bilingual aphasia

Answer 27

A. Bilingual aphasia test

B. ASHA-FACS

Question 28

Briefly define the term cognate with respect to bilingualism and provide an example

Answer 28

A. Words that are similar in meaning and form across languages. Eg, telephone and telefono

Question 29

Why is it important for speech pathologists who are working with clients who have aphasia to have knowledge of cognates

Answer 29

They are useful therapy tools because of structural similarity leading to generalisation

Question 30

Provide two examples of activity/participation focused aphasia interventions that focus on changing the communication behaviour of the PWA

Answer 30

PACE therapy

SCRIPT therapy

Question 31

Use the four guiding principles of Promoting Aphasics’ Communication Effectiveness therapy

Answer 31

A. Equal participation
B. Exchange of new information
C. Free to use any modality
D. Natural feedback

Question 32

Provide two examples of how CILT and PACE therapy clearly differ

Answer 32

PACE - use any modality; CILT - only use spoken language

PACE - equal participation; CILT - mass session

Question 33

Provide four examples of potential ways to measure outcomes for Aphasia Script therapy. All outcomes must specifically relate to the person with Aphasia’s production of the script

Answer 33

Pre and  post measures of 
A. Percent script related words
B.  Rate of production
C. Number of nouns
D. Number of verbs

Question 34

List four strategies that may be used to support conversations when communicating with an individual who has moderate to severe verbal expressive language difficulties as the result of aphasia. Ie. communication strategies you could use to reveal competence by ensuring the PWA has a means of responding

Answer 34

A. Fixed choice questions.
B. Yes/no questions
C. Encouragement of drawing and writing
D. Resources/objects

Question 35

List four strategies that may be used to support conversations when communicating with an individual who has moderate to severe receptive language difficulties as the result of aphasia. Ie. communication strategies you could use to reveal competence in understanding

Answer 35

A. Short, simple sentences
B. Meaningful gestures
C. Simple and clear drawings
D. Resources

Question 36

Supported conversation for Adults with Aphasia (SCA) advocates the principle of acknowledging competence. Briefly describe what this means and provide an example of something you could say to a PWA to acknowledge their competence

Answer 36

A. It means you acknowledge that they know what they want to say, that they are intelligent, and not to dismiss them
B. I know that you know what you want to say

Question 37

What is the recommended reading grade level for documents intended to be read by persons in the general population with literacy difficulties

Answer 37

6 or lower

Question 38

Provide four evidence based ways written health information can be formatted to assist PWA’s reading comprehension

Answer 38

A. Use short words where possible
B. Use common words where possible
C. Avoid abbreviations
D. Avoid jargon

Question 39

Identify four ways you could modify the formatting of a written speech pathology report to make it more ‘aphasia-friendly’

Answer 39

A. Incorporate best practice and easy English guidelines
B. Use a minimum of 14 point font
C. San serif font
D. 1 1/2 and double line spacing for paragraphs

Question 40

Define ‘communication access’

Answer 40

Communication access is about developing communication that is clear, comfortable and easy to understand and interact with

Question 41

Provide four examples of environmental factors that you could consider modifying in order to make your speech-language pathology outpatient department more accessible for your clients with aphasia

Answer 41

A. Decrease background noise
B. Friendly staff, trained to deal with PWA
C. Easy to read handouts
D. SLP appt letters written using aphasia friendly formatting

Question 42

List two ways you could measure outcomes of aphasia group therapy. Each example must specifically relate to capturing change in the person with Aphasia’s communication skills

Answer 42

A. Goal Attainment Scales

B. AusTOMS - Australian Therapy Outcome Measure Scales

Question 43

Provide examples of four different types of aphasia groups, as discussed within SPCH7825

Answer 43

A. Information groups
B. Conversation groups
C. ‘Book club’ groups
D. Groups for friends and family

Question 44

The language scale within the AusTOMS is based on the ICF framework. List the four domains that speech pathologists rate on a five point scale

Answer 44

A. Impairment
B. Activity limitation
C. Participation restriction
D. Well-being

Question 45

List the four themes identified within the research by Brown et al that relate to successfully living with Aphasia

Answer 45

A. Doing things
B. Meaningful relationships
C. Communication
D. Striving for a positive way of living

Question 46

Provide at least two examples of therapy/intervention you plan to provide at the following levels
A. Impairment level
B. Participation/activity level
C. Environmental level

Answer 46

A. Semantic therapy; CILT therapy
B. Script therapy, PACE therapy
C. Supported conversation for adults with aphasia, Aphasia couples therapy