Purpose: Aphasia fluency is multiply determined by underlying impairments in lexical retrieval, grammatical formulation, and speech production. This poses challenges for establishing a reliable and feasible tool to measure fluency in the clinic. We examine the reliability and validity of perceptual ratings and clinical perspectives on the utility…

Background: Factors influencing the implementation of communication partner training (CPT) with familiar partners of people with aphasia (PWA) have previously been documented using disparate approaches. To date there has been no synthesis of these factors using a common theoretical framework. Investigating CPT implementation factors using a common…

Purpose: The StartReact effect, whereby movements are elicited by loud, startling acoustic stimuli (SAS), allows the evaluation of movements when initiated through involuntary circuitry, before auditory feedback. When StartReact is applied during poststroke upper extremity movements, individuals exhibit increased muscle recruitment, reaction…

Introduction: Spelling difficulty is a common symptom of aphasia and can entail editing difficulties. Previous research has shown that extensive editing is related to a lower production rate in text writing for persons with aphasia, yet editing difficulty is not commonly examined. It is not known if editing difficulty is related to reading and…

Background: The semantic variant of primary progressive aphasia (PPA) is typically associated with a loss of semantic knowledge. Research on the semantic processing in the other clinical variants of PPA is, however, rather sparse and limited to off-line behavioural studies. Aims: This study aimed to investigate verbal semantic processing in…

Purpose: This article reviews four discourse measures and examines whether they are sensitive to impairments in people with both mild and severe aphasia. We also ask whether these measures were sensitive to effects of conversation treatment in two case examples. Method: Two people with aphasia, one mild and fluent and the other severe and…

Purpose: Enhancing social participation and reducing emotional distress in persons with aphasia (PWA) are a critical rehabilitation goal. Social relationships and meaningful activities performed by PWA are also crucial to promote positive psychosocial well-being. As a precautionary measure specific to the COVID-19 pandemic, most PWA worldwide have…

Purpose: Many factors influence poststroke language recovery, yet little is known about the influence of previous stroke(s) on language after left hemisphere stroke. In this prospective longitudinal study, we investigated the role of prior stroke on language abilities following an acute left hemisphere ischemic stroke, while controlling for…

Purpose: This study reports on how very old (VO) Finnish people without dementia perform in the Western Aphasia Battery (WAB) and two verbal fluency tasks and which demographic factors predict the performance. Method: The study included fifty 80- to 100-year-old community-dwelling Finnish speakers with no dementing illnesses or speech-language…

Background: While implementation studies in aphasia management have shown promising improvements to clinical practice, it is currently unknown if aphasia implementation outcomes are sustained and what factors may influence clinical sustainability. Aims: To evaluate the sustainment (i.e., sustained improvement of aphasia management practices and…

Primary progressive aphasia (PPA) is an acquired neurodegenerative syndrome that has specific and devastating effects on an individual's speech and language ability. Based on a detailed assessment of behavior and cognition, combined with structural neuroimaging data and pathological evidence, PPA is typically classified into three variants: the…

Background: Aphasia is often accompanied by impairment of non-language cognitive functions. Assessment of cognitive capacity in people with aphasia (PWA) with standard neuropsychological methods may be problematic due to their language difficulties. Numerous experimental studies indicate that P300 may be considered as an index of cognitive…

Background & aims: Echolalia, the repetition of one's or others' utterances, is a behavior present in typical development, autism spectrum disorder, aphasias, Tourette's, and other clinical groups. Despite the broad range of conditions in which echolalia can occur, it is considered primarily through a disorder-specific lens, which limits a…

Background: With a rapidly aging population in mainland China, dysphagia has become one of the common geriatric disorders which creates a huge demand on speech and language therapists (SLTs). The major challenge is the shortage of SLTs in China. In addition, frontline practitioners in mainland China may not be well equipped with the knowledge and…

Purpose: Script training is a well-established treatment for aphasia, but its evidence comes almost exclusively from monolingual English speakers with aphasia. Furthermore, its active ingredients and profiles of people with aphasia (PWA) that respond to this treatment remain understudied. This study aimed to adapt a scripted-sentence learning…