TRAINING VERB PRODUCTION IN COMMUNICATIVE CONTEXT: EVIDENCE FROM A PERSON WITH CHRONIC NON-FLUENT APHASIA

Abstract

BACKGROUND: The use of constraint-induced treatment in aphasia therapy has yielded promising but mixed results. AIMS: We conducted a treatment study with an individual with chronic non-fluent aphasia. The goal of the treatment was to improve verb production in sentence- and narrative- contexts. METHODS #ENTITYSTARTX00026; PROCEDURES: We administered a modified constraint-induced aphasia treatment in a single-subject design. Treatment emphasized the production of verbs within informative exchanges. Verb production in narratives was assessed before and after the treatment. OUTCOMES #ENTITYSTARTX00026; RESULTS: Results demonstrated a significant increase in the number of verbs produced during narrative generation following treatment. Moreover, a positive change was perceived by naïve listeners who rated the social-communicative impact of the participant's narratives. CONCLUSIONS: The increase in verb production seen in the post-treatment measures is attributed to a combination of the constraints imposed on sentence production during the treatment sessions, the informative nature of the treatment exchanges, and the relative intensity of the treatment schedule.

Figures

FIGURE 1

Mean percent verbs and nouns produced (bars) and the ratio of verbs to number of verbs and nouns multiplied by 100 (line) for three narratives pre- and post- treatment.