Visual scene displays (VSDs) are becoming an increasingly popular method of message representation within augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) supports; however, design factors can influence the effectiveness of these images as communication supports. One issue that has come to light in recent years is the fact that selecting…

Studies have identified deficits in attention in individuals with aphasia in language and nonlanguage tasks. Attention may play a role in the construction and use of language, as well as in learning and the process of rehabilitation, yet the role of attention on rehabilitation is not fully understood. To improve the understanding of attention and…

Purpose: Clinically accessible and concise measures of acute stress in adults with aphasia are lacking. The current article evaluated some psychometric features of a single-item self-report measure of acute stress in adults with aphasia, the Simple Aphasia Stress Scale. Method: Three archival data sets utilizing varying iterations of a stress…

Background: The ability to generate words that follow certain constraints, or verbal fluency, is a sensitive indicator of neurocognitive impairment, and is impacted by a variety of variables. Aims: To investigate the effect of post-stroke aphasia, elicitation category and linguistic variables on verbal fluency performance. Methods &…

In traditional aphasia testing and treatment, clinicians administer a standardized aphasia test that measures language impairment, followed by a linguistic approach to treatment. Many clinicians have argued the need for emphasis on functional communication, and third party payers desire functional information to determine patient progress. This…

Purpose: Many adults with aphasia demonstrate concomitant deficits in working memory (WM), but such deficits are difficult to quantify because of a lack of validated measures as well as the complex interdependence between language and WM. We examined the feasibility, reliability, and internal consistency of an "n"-back task for…

Language sample data from normal subjects (ages 40-79) were collected to determine how normal aging might affect performance on a picture description task, routinely used for assessment of aphasic individuals. Only an increase in the number of paraphasias and a decrease in communication efficiency correlated with increased age. (DB)

Using story retelling as an index of language ability, it is difficult to disambiguate comprehension and memory deficits. Collecting data on the serial position effect (SPE), however, illuminates the memory component. This study examined the SPE of the percentage of information units (%IU) produced in the connected speech samples of adults with…

A study investigated the psychometric validity of current language impairment, communication activity limitation, and quality of life measures for differentiating 18 typical adults from 18 adults with chronic aphasia. Results indicated there existed significant relationships among some demographic variables and performance on the measures,…

Connected speech of 134 healthy, Canadian French-speaking adults, grouped according to age and education level, was analyzed using an aphasia battery. Results demonstrated that older subjects with less education produced fewer content units and were less efficient in transmitting lexico-semantic information. Effects of age and education level on…

Articles on communication and language disorder are presented. All but one are in French; the other is in German. They include: "Specificity of Developmental Dysphasia: Implications for Intervention" (Marc Montfort, Adoracion Juarez Sanchez); "Difficulties with Language Development and Discursive Capacity" (Genevieve de Weck); "Language Production…