According to the World Health Organization, 795,000 Americans suffer a stroke each year and of the survivors, twenty-five to forty percent will acquire aphasia. The National Aphasia Association defines aphasia as “an impairment of language, affecting the production or comprehension of speech and the ability to read or write.” Many of these people suffering from aphasia will undergo therapy at some point in time. Several approaches have been proven effective in lessening the symptoms of aphasia. A recent topic of interest over the last two decades has been the role that intensity plays in aphasia therapy. Several studies have been done to evaluate language outcomes for patients undergoing intensive versus non-intensive aphasia therapy, as well as to identify the specific intensive therapies that are effective. One such type of therapy is the Constraint-Induced Language Therapy (CILT). Another topic of interest in the aphasia community is regarding the “window of recovery” for those suffering from aphasia. It was commonly believed that language recovery from aphasia plateaus off within the first year following a stroke (Pedersen et al., 1995); however, new evidence suggests that when an intensive therapy such as CILT is implemented, results can be seen many years later. The present paper will investigate the role that intensity plays in aphasia therapy, take a closer look at CILT versus other approaches, and evaluate current research regarding the “window of recovery” in patients with aphasia.
The bulk of research examining intensity of treatment (sometimes known as dosage) has been completed within the last twenty years. Among these studies, there has been evidence both for and against implementing therapy in an intensive mann...
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...ook at the effect that these variables had on measures of language impairment in people with stroke-induced aphasia. This study also supported the idea that an increased intensity of therapy was associated with improvements of language impairment.
Many studies that explore effects of treatment intensity on aphasia recovery do so by looking at a specific type of intensive therapy known as Constraint-Induced Language Therapy (CILT). Pulvermuller et al. (2001) was the first to examine how constraints placed on a person with aphasia so as to limit them to only a verbal means of communication might improve verbal output. The idea stemmed from evidence in the physical therapy field that large motor improvements are possible when the lesser affected limb is constrained and intensive therapy is provided to the more severely affected limb (Taub, Uswatte, Pidikiti, 1999).
The two types of aphasia discussed in class is non-fluent aphasia and fluent aphasia. Aphasia can occur when there is damage to the left hemisphere of the brain, which is the language center of the brain. People with non-fluent aphasia will say or sign random words, there will be little or no function words/signs, similar to the telegraphic stage of language development. People with fluent aphasia will be able to produce sentences with function words, but the sentences will contain miss-selected words/signs.
Takeda, Taylor, Khan, Krum, & Underwood. (2012) states ‘(1) case management interventions (intense monitoring of patients following discharge often involving telephone follow up and home visits); (2) clinic interventions (follow up in a CHF clinic) and (3) multidisciplinary interventions (holistic approach bridging the gap between hospital admission and discharge home delivered by a team). The components, intensity and duration of the interventions varied, as did the ‘usual care’ comparator provided in different trials’. (P. 2).
Aphasia is an acquired communication disorder that disrupts communication and it can deteriorate a person’s coping potential and quality of life (Parr, 2001) which involve damage to the parts of brain that contain language (ASHA, 2013). Statistics from United States indicated around 25-40% of stroke survivors developed aphasia (National Association of Aphasia, NAA, 2013). Aphasia will affect both the ability to produce or comprehend spoken language and written language while intelligence is left intact (NAA, 2013). In US, it is found that the most common cause of aphasia is stroke (85%) and others including Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI), brain tumor or other degenerative diseases (NAA, 2013).
reminders about common misconceptions regarding null hypothesis significance testing. Quality Of Life Research: An International Journal of Quality of Life Aspects of Treatment, Care and Rehabilitation. Retrieved from http://ehis.ebscohost.com
The article opens up with an explanation as to what the method of coaching is. According to Holland, “life coaching”, as it is called, is considered to be a variant of typical counseling. Coaching is in its early stages (as of 2007), yet it is used in developments and processes that are designed to help individuals with aphasia live their lives to the fullest and improve their quality of life. The work of Goldsmith (an earlier mentioned practitioner) is the author’s main interest. Goldsmith’s approach involves what one may call a “Buddhist” way of thinking; meaning change is seen as a positive thing. Speech-language pathologists place their trust in their client’s ability to take on new skills, arrange their new language capabilities, and acquire new problem-solving tactics.
Aphasia can be defined as a disorder that is caused by damage to parts of the brain that are responsible for language (“Aphasia” n.p.). Wernicke’s aphasia is a type of fluent aphasia (with the other type being nonfluent). It is named after Carl Wernicke who described the disorder as “an amnesiac disorder characterized by fluent but disordered speech, with a similar disorder in writing, and impaired understanding of oral speech and reading” (“Wernicke’s” n.p.). Wernicke’s aphasia can also be known as sensory aphasia, fluent aphasia, or receptive aphasia. It is a type of aphasia that is caused by damage to Wernicke’s area in the brain, in the posterior part of the temporal lobe of the left hemisphere. This area of the brain contains motor neurons responsible for the understanding of spoken language and is believed to be the receptive language center (“Rogers” n.p.). Wernicke’s aphasia can be most efficiently defined as a fluent language disorder commonly caused by strokes and characterized by difficulty comprehending spoken language and producing meaningful speech and writing which is both assessable by an SLP and treatable by a variety of methods.
The task was indeed difficult and became a failure as it fomented distress among a few of the participants whose performance gradually deteriorated. Of the 6 participants, only 1 came close to reaching the criteria of the experiment (i.e., reciting the alphabets backwards in a maximum time of 10.4 seconds), with a ti...
Support of our patients, our colleagues and of our own practice through evidence based practice techniques and scientific fact can be the most comforting evidence in this particular change proposal as it supports the PICO question, “In terminally ill patients, does early admission into a hospice program, versus those who are admitted later, result in more effective pain control at the end of life?” The answer, based in evidence is yes.
Examining For Aphasia was created in 1954 by John Eisenson in New York (Eisenson, 1954). It was one of the first tests for assessing language impairment (Benson & Ardila, 1996) and provides a guided approach for evaluating language disturbances and other disturbances closely related to language function (Eisenson, 1954). The materials and procedures were developed originally for use with a group of patients in an army hospital who had aphasia and related disturbances (Eisenson, 1954, p. 32). Continued use of the original inventory resulted in refinements and improvement and testing of civilian patients has ‘shown the applicability of various parts of the test as well as of the examination as a whole’ (Eisenson, 1954, p. 32)
...relief, even if the amount required compromises respiration and leads to death? Most health care providers say no, because the goals in each are different. In the first situation, the goal is death; in the second, the goal is relief from suffering (Salladay, p. 1).
Salonen, L. (2013). L. S. Vygotsky 's psychology and theory of learning applied to the rehabilitation of aphasia: A developmental and systemic view. Aphasiology, 27(5), 615-635. doi:10.
Communication is very crucial in life, especially in education. Whether it be delivering a message or receiving information, without the ability to communicate learning can be extremely difficult. Students with speech and language disorders may have “trouble producing speech sounds, using spoken language to communicate, or understanding what other people say” (Turkington, p10, 2003) Each of these problems can create major setbacks in the classroom. Articulation, expression and reception are all essential components for communication. If a student has an issue with articulation, they most likely then have difficulty speaking clearly and at a normal rate (Turkington, 2003). When they produce words, they may omit, substitute, or even distort sounds, hindering their ability to talk. Students who lack in ways of expression have problems explaining what they are thinking and feeling because they do not understand certain parts of language. As with all types of learning disabilities, the severity can range. Two extreme cases of expression disorders are dysphasia and aphasia, in which there is partial to no communication at all (Greene, 435, 2002). Individuals can also have a receptive disorder, in which they do not fully comprehend and understand information that is being given to them. They can experience problems making sense of things. “Children may hear or see a word but not be able to understand its meaning” (National Institutes of Health, 1993, p1). Whether children have difficulty articulating speech, expressing words, receiving information, or a combination of the three, there is no doubt that the tasks given to them in school cause frustration. These children experience anxiety when...
Therapy is the most commonly used treatment for symptoms. A variety of therapy treatments are offered for patients based on their specific characteristics and what th...
Lubinski R. 2010. Speech Therapy or Speech-Language Pathology. In: JH Stone, M Blouin, editors. International Encyclopedia of Rehabilitation. Available online: http://cirrie.buffalo.edu/encyclopedia/en/article/333/
In the last few decades, the notion of language and brain has been highlighted in different scientific fields such as: neurology, cognitive science, linguistics biology, technology and finally education.