It is uncontroversial in psychological research that different schedules of practice, which govern the distribution of practice over time, can promote radically different outcomes in terms of gains in performance and durability of learning. In contrast, in speech-language treatment research, there is a critical need for well-controlled studies…

Clinical borderlands manifest themselves through encounters between people deemed to be in need of health care and health care providers (Mattingly, 2010). This article addresses the problem of inherent asymmetry in the clinical discourse between clinical providers, such as speech-language pathologists (SLPs), and persons with aphasia.…

The phonomotor treatment program for treating word-retrieval deficits among people with aphasia is inspired by a parallel distributed processing model of lexical processing and is focused at the level of individual phonemes and phoneme sequences. Because verbal production of words involves the translation of a lexical-semantic representation into…

Purpose: This article summarizes current outcomes from intensive comprehensive aphasia programs (ICAPs) and examines data from one ICAP to identify those who respond and do not respond to treatment. Methods: Participants were divided into 2 groups, responders and nonresponders, based on ±5-point change score on the Western Aphasia Battery-Revised…

During clinical interactions between speech-language pathologists and adults with aphasia, a variety of emotional issues arise. The literature suggests that while counseling is within the scope of practice, SLPs tend to avoid emotional issues in therapy (A. Holland, 2007a). The precise mechanisms employed for circumventing emotional issues in…

The article compares normal language comprehension with that in aphasic patients in terms of both sentence and discourse comprehension. Implications for treatment of aphasic patients include emphasizing comprehension of main ideas, rather than details, and using materials with high imagery and personal relevance. (DB)

The literature review looks at effectiveness of language treatment for aphasic patients in terms of complications in treatment studies (differences among patients and spontaneous recoveries), and results of treatment studies suggesting that treatment usually benefits only patients who meet specific criteria (such as aphasia of less than 3 months…

Treatment of acquired reading disorders are discussed in terms of reading processes, assessment, and external/internal factors affecting comprehension. Treatment methods are distinguished for severely impaired, moderately impaired, and mildly impaired patients. (DB)

Three modes of using the microcomputer in aphasia rehabilitation include the dependent mode (with the clinician in the clinic setting), the clinic-based independent mode, and the home-based mode. Also considered are hardware and software selection, patient selection, clinician responsibilities, and family support. A case study illustrates…

Drawing as therapy for the expressively restricted aphasic adult is discussed with sections on: drawing and acquired brain damage, communication through drawing in aphasia, and training expressively restricted aphasic patients to draw communicatively by use of the Lyon/Sims Program. (DB)