Auditory Comprehension
What is another word for comprehension? (Hint: Its opposite is very expressive...)
Receptive language
What is semantic reversibility?
The idea that the meaning of a sentence can be changed by swapping parts of speech (such as the subject and object).
What is one of the downsides of spontaneous speech as an informal assessment of production?
Spontaneous speech isn't necessarily likely to produce more complex linguistic forms like passives, which can be difficult for aphasic patients.
Sentence-level comprehension is not as well-studied as sentence-level __________.
production
T/F: Many cases of aphasia don't exhibit auditory comprehension deficit.
False! Most cases of aphasia do.
What is an example of a semantically irreversible sentence?
The girl loved the book. (The girl is capable of love but the girl is not, making the sentence irreversible.)
Name the three steps of a cueing verbs treatment.
Level III: Answer "Wh-" questions using verb repetition and self-generation of subjects and objects
For individuals with both comprehension and production deficits, name three treatment approaches used.
- Pointing drills
- Following directions/commands
- Y/N questions
What are some confounding factors (non-linguistic) that may impact one's performance on a comprehension task involving pointing to a verbally-named object or picture?
- Visual impairment preventing the client from seeing the object or picture correctly
- Difficulty with motor movements could prevent the client from pointing to the object or picture
When assessing auditory single-word comprehension, are nouns or verbs more frequently targeted?
What is VNeST? Give a brief summary of how it works.
VNeST (verb network strengthening treatment) is based around the idea that verbs generate semantically-related nouns (and vice-versa). Clients are presented with verbs and provide appropriate agents/themes for that verb. They then select an agent/theme pair and answer "wh-" questions based around the pair.
Name at least one of the formal forms of assessment for sentence-level comprehension and at least two forms of informal assessment.
Formal: BDAE (Boston Diagnostic Aphasia Evaluation)
Informal: Multi-step directions; simple and complex y/n questions
Describe the difference between pure word deafness and aphasia.
Pure word deafness = Failure to perceive speech sounds correctly (despite being able to hear the sounds)
Aphasia = Failure to understand the meaning of a word (despite being able to repeat the word back)
Sentence complexity an be affected by:
The number of propositions (i.e. the number of ideas, or verbs, in a sentence)
What is the sentence production program for aphasia? What is its main principle?
The sentence production program for aphasia is a treatment approach in which clients use the same words to complete sentences of different types. This is presented in a story completion format.
Many treatment strategies for auditory comprehension have been based on the ___________ ________, in which the language system is not lost or destroyed, but is uncoordinated/has reduced efficiency. (Therapy practices in agreement with this approach have been used for years)
stimulation approach
Name three ways to assess auditory single-word comprehension.
1. Say a word and ask the client to point to the object or picture representing your word
2. Ask yes/no questions, such as "Is this a...?"
3. Matching a written word to a picture/object
For sentence/level comprehension: For active sentences, which order do the thematic roles go in?
agent --> action --> theme
theme --> action --> agent
agent --> action --> theme
What is the treatment for underlying forms for syntactic structure? What is its main principle?
Treatment for underlying forms for syntactic structure is based around the idea that by targeting more complex sentence structures, studies show that generalization occurs to linguistically-related but less complex structures.
For individuals with comprehension deficits, name three treatment approaches used.
- Sentence/phrase completion
- Open-ended questions and retelling
- Mapping therapy (to work on syntactic structure and semantic structure)