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Question 1

What are the benefits of multidimensional scoring in aphasia evaluations?

Answer 1

• shows improvement
• allows you to see exactly what level the client is at/pinpoint abilities and performance
• gradiant between “how wrong” and “how right”
• responses have high statistical reliability
• natural progression of recovery from a stoke outlined in 16 steps

Question 2

Discuss the following statement: There is often an artificial distinction made between evaluation and intervention.

Answer 2

Yes. Many people think you evaluate one session at the beginning, and then the rest of the sessions are therapy. You have to continue to evaluate throughout intervention. You can’t just evaluate at one time at the beginning because you can’t know everything you need to know about someone in one session. Any data we collect during treatment/therapy is a way of evaluating client’s progress and the efficacy of our therapy.

Question 3

Explain how a hearing impairment or an auditory processing impairment might influence the assessment findings of someone with aphasia.

Answer 3

• assessment may have to be modified
• comprehension scores will be lower and you won’t know if it’s from hearing loss, aphasia, or auditory processing disorder (or all 3)
• intervention goals may overlap but they’re not exactly the same
• if you give them the wrong diagnosis, they’ll get the wrong therapy

Question 4

Discuss the ASHA Quality of Communication Life Scale, giving special attention to its schema describing its relationship to the ICF.

Answer 4

• they tried to collaborate with the ICF, asked Dr. Threats for input
• groundbreaking in that is came up with a visual analog scale (Really yes, really no, and variations in between).
• questions were asked such: “I like to talk to people,” “easy to communicate” “I like myself” “people include me in conversations” “I use the telephone.”

Question 5

Why was ASHA Quality of Communication Life Scale designed?

Answer 5

• a test designed to measure quality of life, and more specifically “quality of communicative life,” something that is not necessarily reliant on language

Question 6

What are the potential strengths of ASHA Quality of Communication Life Scale?

Answer 6

• visual analog scale more accurate than language
• quality of life concepts (can see if they improved after therapy)
• can lead to discussion (why do you do this? Why has this changed?)

Question 7

What are the potential limitations of ASHA Quality of Communication Life Scale?

Answer 7

• bad title
• it looks at quality of life and participation in activities so score is meaningless
• when you look at both you’re not concentrating on either one
• quality of life issues are extremely important and SLPs might think that by giving this they’re done dealing with these issues

Question 8

Discuss the controversies surrounding the use of the ICF systematically for aphasia evaluation as debated in the articles in the special issue of Aphasia entitled. Forum Advancing appraisal: Aphasia and the WHO. Aphasiology, 19 (9), 860 - 900.

Answer 8

The aim of the authors article is to incorporate the World Health Organization’s (WHO) international classifications of functioning, disability and quality of life into the appraisal of aphasia to facilitate both more meaningful treatment planning, designed to address the entire consequences of aphasia for each individual, and more meaningful comparison of treatment outcomes, within and among healthcare disciplines and providers. The articles states that despite the abundance of available measures, current appraisal of aphasia may be insufficient for focusing socially valid treatment. The WHO classifications should facilitate development of meaningful and practical health policy, assessment of quality assurance, and improved outcome evaluation for the discipline of clinical aphasiology.

Question 9

What are the advantages of the ICF?

Answer 9

• provides a common language for all the areas of health and its effects in a systematic way
• makes SLP consider impact of a person’s condition in all areas
• the WHO classifcations are more experimental than empirically demonstrated
• clinician will consider client’s views as part of assessment and when planning their treatment

Question 10

Limitations of the ICF?

Answer 10

• it’s complexity and questionable applicability to lay perceptions of health constitute limitations
• personal factors are not measureable using ICF due to cultural variations of all your clients

Question 11

Discuss the possible role of personal factors of the ICF in looking at aphasia. How do Personal Factors fit into the notion of multicultural and diversity issues?

Answer 11

personal factors of the ICF included in the ICF are: demographic factors, personality traits, and past experiences