Assessment
Name a standardized test to assess language in those with Aphasia
Boston Diagnostic Aphasia Examination (BDAE) or Western Aphasia Battery (WAB)
This approach uses semantic features (category, function, location, etc.)
Semantic Feature Analysis
A patient struggles to understand sentence structure but demonstrates intact problem solving, memory, and attention. What is likely the problem?
Aphasia - language impairment
A goal focused on improving how a patient communicates during daily activities (ex: ordering food, talking with family) reflects this level of care.
participation level
How could you test alternative attention?
Ask the patient to switch between two tasks or mental sets, such as alternating between numbers and letters (trail making) or naming between two different categories (animal/fruit)
Name a type of confound and an example
Sensory - hearing loss
Motor - Apraxia
cultural/linguistic - doesn't use that vocab word
Emotional - anxiety during testing
This intervention approach strengthens semantic networks around verbs, which are central to sentence structure, improving generalization to functional, connected speech.
VNeST
A patient speaks fluently but cannot stay on topic and loses their train of thought. What is likely the cause?
Cognitive-communication difficulties (executive functioning)
A patient performs well on naming tasks but struggles during real conversations. What area should therapy prioritize?
Functional / real word communication or discourse
A patient is asked to listen to a series of letters and raise their hand every time they hear the letter “A” over several minutes
Sustained attention
A patient can’t name objects but explains how to use them. What could this mean?
word retrieval difficulty - anomia
This intervention approach forces use of the impaired language system, promoting neuroplasticity and increased verbal output through high repetition and intensity.
Constraint-Induced Language Therapy (CILT)
A patient uses vague words like “thing” and “stuff” but demonstrates intact reasoning and organization. What is likely the problem?
Language - word finding difficulty
Name one caregiver training strategy you would tell to a spouse of someone with aphasia or cognitive communication disorder
short simple sentences, reduce background noise, give extra time to respond, Use multimodal supports (gestures, writing, visuals), Ask one question at a time, Avoid correcting every error, Use yes/no or forced choice questions
Why is discourse anlysis important in assessment?
Discourse analysis is important because it reveals functional communication abilities and higher-level language/cognitive deficits that are not captured in structured testing.
A patient performs worse as testing continues, despite strong performance at the start. What could this mean?
Fatigue confound - impacting performance
This intervention approach is where the clinician reinforces and expands a patient’s responses by modeling more complete or detailed utterances, encouraging the patient to produce longer, more informative speech.
Response Elaboration Training (RET)
A patient performs poorly on comprehension tasks but ONLY in a noisy environment. What might be the cause?
environmental/sensory confound or difficulty with attention
A patient avoids talking due to frustration and embarrassment. What is the MOST important initial focus of therapy?
increasing participation / confidence / reducing avoidance
A patient performs well on forward span but becomes frustrated and makes errors on backward span. What additional demand is backward span placing on the patient?
manipulation of information / working memory
Name and explain one piece of your assessment you would include and why
Case history, Discourse analysis , Standardized tests, Naming/word finding, auditory comp, memory, attention, problem solving, quality of life questionnaire
This intervention appraoch is where patients generate sound-based features of a word (e.g., first sound, rhyming words, number of syllables) to support word retrieval.
Phonological Components Analysis (PCA)
A patient: Speaks fluently, has intact grammar, uses vague, nonspecific language, frequently loses track of ideas during conversation
What is likely the cause?
Cognitive-communication impairment affecting organization of language
A patient improves in structured therapy tasks but shows little carryover to real life. What is the BEST way to address this?
Make tasks more functional, provide more caregiver training, assign home exercise activities or opprotunities for practice outside of clinical setting
A patient performs well on simple attention tasks, struggles when tasks require holding and manipulating information, becomes overwhelmed with multi-step directions. What is the MOST likely underlying deficit?
Working Memory