Therapy For Single Words

Question 1

Melodic intonation therapy Albert et al 1973

Answer 1

Based on the observation that individuals with severe aphasia often produce well articulated accurate sentences when singing but not during speech
Albert et al found it to be successful on 3 chronic non fluent (brocas) aphasia patients had significant improved score on BDAE
Alberts original interpretation was that it engaged expressive language areas in the right hemisphere but no evidence supports this.

Question 2

Melodic intonation stages

Answer 2

1. Humming e.g. Hum 2 notes
2. Gradually fade out own cues
3. Replace melody with words
4. Build up words and phrases

Lots and lots of repetition

Question 3

Semantic feature analysis coelho and Boyle 1995

Answer 3

Designed to improve retrieval of conceptual information by accessing semantic networks
Used this treatment to treat aphasic dysnomia in a 57 year old male who exhibited Broca’s aphasia found it improved:
😍confrontation naming
😍improvement to untreated pictures
But no improvement to:
😒connected speech- mean words per minute
😩correct information - units per minute
😑percentage of words correct
Based on connectionist model, put words about the target to elicit it.

Question 4

Phonological component analysis laird et al 2005

Answer 4

Phonological comparison of semantic feature analysis
Participant asked to demonstrate 5 phonological components related to the target
Found the approach was effective in remediation of naming difficulties in aphasia
Based on the premise the more information on a word the more you can achieve it

Question 5

Computer therapy: step by step Mortley et al 2004

Answer 5

Did a study using 7 participants with an ABA design (A=assessment, B =treatment). All 2 years post stroke and had word finding difficulties. Had computer therapy, exercises updated daily. No face to face therapy.
Improvement in word retrieval skills and perceived functional benefit
Salient as can personalise the program

Question 6

Thompson - complexity account 2007

Answer 6

The hypothesise that training the production of syntactically complex sentences results in generalisation to less complex sentences that have processes in common with treated structures
2 participants received treatment on least complex structure ‘who’ and 2 received treatment on the most complex form (object relative constructions)
Who had no generalisation
Object relative had generalisation to object cleft and who
Supports hypothesis

Question 7

Constraint induced therapy meinzer et al 2007

Answer 7

Well evaluated
Based on intensive training principle and previously used for movement
Meinzer looked at how these principles could be applied to aphasia
Success
Observed reorganisational changes in brain activity following intensive language training
Adds to previous evidence that this leads of macroscopic remodelling of cortical network architecture
Link to Klein and Jones😃