This study investigated the influence of semantic complexity treatment in individuals with fluent aphasia on discourse performance. Semantic treatment is an effective way to improve semantically based word retrieval problems in aphasia. Treatment focused on the semantic application of the Complexity Account of Treatment Efficacy (CATE) (Thompson, Shapiro, Kiran, & Sobecks, 2003) promotes training of complex items resulting in generalization to less complex, untrained items. In addition, research has shown that the personal relevance of treatment material can increase treatment efficacy. This study investigated the effect of semantic treatment of atypical personally relevant items among individuals with aphasia on discourse performance. Two treatment phases were applied to examine the influence of personally relevant and non-relevant treatment material on discourse performance. In addition, generalization from trained atypical items to untrained typical items was investigated. Methods and procedures were partially replicated from Kiran, Sandberg, & Sebastian (2011) examining semantic complexity within goal-derived (ad hoc) categories. Three participants with fluent aphasia were trained on three semantic tasks including category sorting, semantic feature generation/selection, and Yes/No feature questions. A generative naming task was used for probe data collection every second session. Stimuli consisted of atypical items only. The hypothesis that semantic complexity training of personally relevant items from ad hoc categories will produce greater generalization to associated, untrained items than training of non-relevant items and consequently increase discourse performance was not supported. The findings revealed a failure to replicate the magnitude and type of improvements previously reported for the typicality effect in generative naming. Clinical significance was found for personally relevant and non-relevant discourse performance. However, no consistent pattern was found within and across participants. In addition, effect size for generalization from trained atypical to untrained typical items was not significant. Limitations of this study lead to future directions to further specify participation selection, such as cognitive abilities, procedural changes, and the inclusion of discourse performance as an outcome measure. Overall, the results of this study provide weak support for replicating semantic treatment of atypical exemplars in ad-hoc categories and hence demonstrate the critical role of replication across labs to identify key issues in the candidacy, procedures, and outcome measurement of any developing treatment.

This study used an item-based approach to explore the full range of lexical-semantic (word frequency and imageability) and sublexical characteristics (regularity and consistency) of stimulus items. Oral reading and spelling-to-dictation data from 72 adults with acquired alexia/agraphia due to stroke or progressive aphasia were analyzed to determine unique influences of lexical-semantic and sublexical variables on performance. Multiple regression analyses were performed for each etiology and lesion group (i.e., perisylvian stoke, extrasylvian stroke, perisylvian atrophy, and extrasylvian atrophy). As expected, word frequency had a significant influence on reading and spelling performance in almost all contexts. Of particular interest was the consistent finding that written language performance associated with left perisylvian damage was moderated primarily by lexical-semantic features of stimuli (frequency and imageability), whereas performance by those with left extrasylvian damage was strongly influenced by sublexical features of sound-spelling regularity and, to a lesser extent, consistency.

Persons with aphasia (PWA) have language difficulties and their Quality of Life (QoL) has most likely been affected. Because of their loss of language abilities, it is difficult to use PWA in QoL studies. This can lead to the use of proxy responses (a person who answers for the PWA). The aim of this study was to compare the rankings from QoL questionnaires for PWA with the rankings from their spouses/caregivers (i.e., proxyresponse). We also wanted to find out which of the 11 aspects of life PWA andspouses/caregivers ranked as the most respectively the least impacted ones. A totalnumber of 57 persons participated in the study. The participants consisted of two groups, one group with PWA and one group of their spouses/caregivers. A questionnaire-based cross-sectional survey completed via a face-to-face interview was used to collect data from both groups. The results showed that there was poor internal consistency and a weak correlation between the two groups. The two groups ranked different aspects of life as “most impacted” and “least impacted”. The PWA ranked Vocation/Occupation as the “most impacted” and Family life as the “least impacted”aspects of life. The spouses/caregivers ranked Overall ability to communicate as the“most impacted” and Ability to self-care as the “least impacted” aspects of life. The results indicate that proxy responses may not be appropriate and should be interpreted with caution in QoL studies with PWA.

No description available.

There are several different methods of assessment of functional communication in individuals with aphasia. However, these are not very established in Sweden. A number of assessment methods are not translated and adapted to Swedish. The views about what functional communication means are scattered. The purpose of this study was to, with the help of a questionnaire survey, identify how Swedish speech and language therapists assess functional communication, to what extent and what they want that an assessment method should contain to be clinically useful. The study involved 54 clinically active speech and language therapists in the area of aphasia. Participants felt that it was important to assess functional communication. Assessment was commonly used but with different methods. The most common way of assessment was that the speech  and language therapists assessed the functional communication through dialogue and observation. It was less claimed to use only structured and published assessment materials. The speech and language therapists in the study considered it important that the results from an assessment method should be comparable over time to be clinically useful. An increased knowledge and dissemination of assessment materials for functional communication might increase the use. There is a need for new Swedish assessment material and/or translations of existing material regarding functionell communication. Another aspect that is important for a more thorough assessment of functional communication is the lack of time as many speech and language therapists where experiencing. / Det finns flertalet bedömningsmetoder för funktionell kommunikation hos personer med afasi. Dessa är dock inte särskilt etablerade i Sverige. Flera av bedömningsmetoderna finns inte översatta till svenska och är därmed inte anpassade till svenska förhållanden. Åsikterna kring vad funktionell kommunikation innebär är spridda. Syftet med föreliggande studie var att med hjälp av en enkätundersökning kartlägga hur och i vilken utsträckning logopeder i Sverige bedömer funktionell kommunikation vid afasi, samt vad de vill att en bedömningsmetod ska innehålla för att den ska vara kliniskt användbar.  I studien deltog 54 kliniskt aktiva logopeder inom afasiområdet. Deltagarna ansåg att det var viktigt att bedöma funktionell kommunikation. Bedömningen utfördes i hög grad men med olika metoder. Det vanligaste var att logopederna bedömde funktionell kommunikation genom samtal och observation. En mindre andel uppgav sig använda enbart strukturerade och publicerade bedömningsmaterial. Det logopederna ansåg viktigast för att en bedömningsmetod ska vara kliniskt användbar var att det gick att jämföra resultatet över tid. Det framkom av svaren att en utökad kunskap och spridning av bedömningsmaterial för funktionell kommunikation skulle få logopeder att använda dessa mer. Det behövs nya svenska material och/eller översättningar av redan befintliga material. Tidsbrist för bedömning av funktionell kommunikation är något som många deltagare angav som en anledning till att det inte genomförs i stor utsträckning.

Das Herbsttreffen Patholinguistik wird seit 2007 jährlich vom Verband für Patholinguistik e.V. (vpl) durchgeführt. Das 6. Herbsttreffen mit dem Schwerpunktthema "Labyrinth Grammatik: Therapie von syntaktischen Störungen bei Kindern und Erwachsenen" fand am 17.11.2012 in Potsdam statt. Im vorliegenden Tagungsband finden sich alle Beiträge der Veranstaltung: die vier Hauptvorträge zum Schwerpunkthema, die Vorträge aus Praxis und Forschung von vier Patholinguistinnen in der Reihe Spektrum Patholinguistik sowie die Abstracts der Posterpräsentation. / The 'Herbsttreffen Patholinguistik' is an annual conference organized by the Association for Patholinguistics (Verband für Patholinguistik e.V./vpl) since 2007. The 6th Herbsttreffen with its theme "Labyrinth Grammar: Therapy of Syntactic Disorders in Children and Adults" took place on November 17th, 2012 in Potsdam. These proceedings contain all contributions of the meeting: the four keynote talks, the talks on speech/language therapy and research in the section "Spektrum Patholinguistik" by four patholinguists as well as the abstracts of the poster session.

Syfte: Att identifiera och beskriva sjuksköterskans kommunikation och bemötande av personer med kognitiv nedsättning, i form av afasi orsakad av stroke. Syftet var även att undersöka vilken betydelse datainsamlingsmetoden har för de inkluderade artiklarna.Metod: Beskrivande litteraturstudie baserad på 14 vetenskapliga artiklar som publicerats år 2000-2012 via databaserna PubMed och Cinahl. En metodologisk granskning av artiklarnas datainsamlingsmetod genomfördes. Resultat: Sjuksköterskans bemötande och kommunikation hade en påverkan på patientens upplevelse av vården. Det framkom både möjligheter och hinder som påverkade kommunikationen i mötet. Brist på kompetens, personalresurser och tid samt stress ansågs vara de faktorer som hindrade kommunikationen. Användning av verbal och icke- verbal kommunikation, bra vårdmiljö, en trygg, lugn och ödmjuk sjuksköterska förbättrade möjligheten till att kunna uppnå ett gott bemötande och en framgångsrik kommunikation. Ostrukturerade intervjuer, djupintervjuer, videoinspelningar och frågeformulär förekom i de valda vetenskapliga artiklarna.Slutsats: En fungerande relation mellan sjuksköterskan och patienten utgör en grund i omvårdnaden och förbättrar omvårdnadskvalitén. Sjuksköterskan behöver ha kompetens, självinsikt och förståelse av mänskligt beteende i mötet med patienter som har en kognitiv nedsättning orsakad av stroke. Sjuksköterskan bör ha ett genomtänkt förhållande till sina egna värderingar och förhållningssätt i mötet och kunna ha förmågan att förutse både eget och patientens beteende. Vald datainsamlingsmetod ger djupare förståelse i det valda omvårdnadsämnet. / Aim: To identify and describe how nursing staff communication and treatment of patients with cognitive impairment such as aphasia caused by stroke and to examine the significance of the included article’s data collection methods.Method: A descriptive literature review based on 14 articles which was published between 2000-2012 in the databases PubMed and Cinahl. A detailed inspection of the articles’ data collection methods was conducted.Result: The nurse communication and treatment had an impact on the patient’s experience of care. It emerged both opportunities and barriers that affected the communication. Lack of staff resources and competence as well as stress were factors that hindered communication. The use of verbal and non-verbal communication, good health environment, a secure, calm and humble nurse improved the possibility to achieve a good treatment and successful communication. Unstructured interviews, in-depth interviews, video recordings and questionnaires occurred in the selected articles.Conclusion: A functional relationship between the nurse and patients is a basis in nursing and improves its quality. Nurses need to have skills, self-awareness and understanding of the human behavior when meeting patients with cognitive impairment caused by stroke. Nurses ought to have a deliberate relation to their own values and attitudes in meetings and be able to anticipate both their own and patient’s behavior. The selected data collection methods give a deeper understanding of the chosen nursing substance.

Bakalauro darbe analizuojama afazijų ištiktų žmonių rašymo grįžimo dinamika. Suformuota hipotezė, kad gebėjimą rašyti padeda grąžinti ankstyvos rašymo pratybos. Tirti afazijų ištikti VšĮ Šiaulių apskrities ligoninės ir VšĮ Klaipėdos ligoninės pacientai, patyrę galvos smegenų insultą ar po galvos smegenų naviko šalinimo operacijos. Atvejo analizės metodu išsiaiškinta, kaip kinta paciento rašymo įgūdžiai nuo reabilitacijos pradžios iki reabilitacijai skirto laiko pabaigos. Tyrimo metu identifikuotas rašymo sutrikimų pobūdis esant įvairioms afazijoms ir iškeltas tikslas, išsiaiškinti rašomosios kalbos grąžinimo ypatumus skirtingų afazijų atvejais. Norint įvykdyti numatytą tikslą, buvo išsikelti šie uždaviniai: • Išanalizuoti medicininę, pedagoginę, psichologinę literatūrą nagrinėjamu klausimu. • Identifikuoti rašymo sutrikimų pobūdį esant įvairioms afazijoms. • Atskleisti asmenų, praradusių gebėjimą kalbėti, rašymo kaitą nuo reabilitacijos pradžios iki reabilitacijai skirto laiko pabaigos. Išaiškėjo, kad rašymo sutrikimų pobūdis priklauso nuo afazijų rūšies. Tiriamųjų rašomosios kalbos grįžimas vyko individualiai, priklausomai nuo afazijų pobūdžio, formos, laipsnio, įtakos turėjo tiriamojo amžius, išsimokslinimas, lytis bei asmeninės žmogaus savybės. Atliktas tyrimas parodė, jog reabilitacijos pradžioje dauguma pacientų negebėjo savarankiškai rašyti ir tik iš dalies nurašinėjo pateiktus žodžius. Reabilitacijos pabaigoje tiriamieji aktyviai pradėjo nurašinėti, o dalis... [toliau žr. visą tekstą] / There is an analysis result of the return of writing skill in Aphasia in this Bachelor Final Work. The hypothesis says: early writing practice determinate faster return of writing skills. For the analysis there were examined patients with traumatic brains injuries and patients who had brain tumor operations in Šiauliai Country Hospital and Klaipėda Hospital. To find out how is changing patients writing skills in the beginning and the end of rehabilitation there was used a case study method. The analysis showed character of writing problems in different kinds of Aphasia. The mane goal of the analysis was to find out particularity of return of writing skills in the case of different kinds of Aphasia. To answer the mane goal there were formed there tasks: • Make an analysis of medical, pedagogical, psychological literature. • Indent the nature of writing skills in different kinds of Aphasia. • Reveal dynamics of writing skills in the beginning and in the end of rehabilitation for the patients who lost their speaking skills. The analysis showed that the nature of writing skills depends of the kind of Aphasia. The return of writing skills was individual, depended on the kind, form and grad of Aphasia. Age, education, sex and personal characteristics had also impact the return of writing skills. This investigation helped to find out that in the beginning of rehabilitation many patients could not write by themselves and partly could rewrite the words. In the end of... [to full text]

Bakgrund: Årligen drabbas 12000 individer av afasi i Sverige. Det är ett stort samhällsproblem. Sannolikheten att som sjuksköterska stöta på dessa individer är därmed stor. Sjuksköterskor är i behov av mer kunskap om de kommunikationsmöjligheter som finns för att kunna främja hälsa hos individer med afasi. Syfte: Syftet med denna litteraturstudie var att belysa vilka möjligheter individer med afasi har till kommunikation. Metod: Vald metod var en litteraturöversikt med fokus på empirisk forskning i form av kvalitativa och kvantitativa vetenskapliga artiklar som sammanställdes för att få en överblick över kunskapsområdet. Sökorden som användes var Communication, Aphasia, Nursing, Strategies, Health och Well-being. Resultat: Examensarbetets resultat baserades på 15 vetenskapliga artiklar. Följande huvudområden framkom i resultatet: Materiella hjälpmedel för kommunikation, Verbal och icke verbal kommunikation, Kommunikationsfrämjande miljö och Kommunikationsfrämjande icke-materiella faktorer. Slutsats: De möjligheter till kommunikation som framkom i resultatet passar olika bra på olika individer med afasi och kan därför inte vara applicerbara på samtliga av dessa. Det visade sig dock att det är av vikt att sjuksköterskor har en medvetenhet om de olika möjligheter till kommunikation som finns hos individer med afasi, samt lär känna individen i fråga. Detta för att underlätta kommunikation och främja hälsa och välbefinnande hos dessa individer. / Background: Each year 12 000 individuals get affected by aphasia in Sweden. It is a big problem in the society. The chance of facing these individuals as a nurse is therefore very big. Nurses are in need to gain more knowledge about the different communication possibilities to be able to promote health in these individuals. Aim: The aim of this literature review was to illustrate communication possibilities for individuals with aphasia Method: The chosen method was a literature review with focus on empirical research in the form of qualitative and quantitative scientific articles, which were compiled in order to attain an overview on the current field of knowledge. Search terms that were used in this study were Communication, Aphasia, Nursing, Strategies, Health and Well-being. Result: The result was based on 15 scientific articles. Following main areas were identified in the result: Physical facilities for communication, Verbal and nonverbal communication, Communication enabling environment and Communication enabling non- material factors. Conclusion: The communication possibilities identified in this study cannot be applied to all individuals with aphasia. It appeared though, that it is important that nurses have an awareness of different communication possibilities in individuals with aphasia, but also take time to get to know the individual in question. This is important when facilitating communication and hence promoting health and well-being in these individuals.

Due to the profound impact that aphasia has on both the person with aphasia and their close family members, aphasia is a family problem. Aphasia is a communication disorder, most commonly caused by stroke. It is associated with impairments in spoken language, understanding, reading, and writing that impact upon daily activities, participation in society, and the quality of life of those with the condition and their family members. However, family-centred rehabilitation programs, policy, and funding are not well established. In the International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health (ICF), the World Health Organization introduced the term “third-party disability” and identified the need for further investigation into family members’ functioning and disability in relation to a significant other’s health condition. In this thesis, the term “third-party functioning” is used to describe positive and/or neutral changes to a family member’s functioning as a consequence of a significant other’s health condition; “third-party disability” describes negative changes. The overall aims of this thesis are to: i) describe third-party functioning and disability in family members of people with aphasia post-stroke, and ii) develop the Significant other Scale for family members of people with Aphasia (SOS-Aphasia), a scale for measuring third-party functioning and third-party disability in this population. Two systematic reviews were conducted to provide a summary of the current literature related to family members’ third-party functioning and third-party disability secondary to aphasia. Positive/neutral and negative findings were extracted from included articles, then synthesized and mapped to the ICF. These reviews showed that family members experienced third-party functioning and third-party disability secondary to aphasia in the Body Functions and Activities and Participation components of the ICF, in addition to the development and exacerbation of health conditions. The results laid the groundwork for the qualitative-quantitative sequential mixed methods study that followed. In the first phase of the study, qualitative methods were used to explore the positive and negative effects of aphasia on family members, thus expanding and confirming our existing understanding of third-party functioning and third-party vii  disability. Twenty family members participated in individual in-depth semi-structured interviews, which were analysed using qualitative content analysis with research codes subsequently mapped to the ICF. The results revealed five categories of positive/neutral aphasia-related changes, including: (1) emotions (e.g., focusing on the positive); (2) communication (e.g., talking to the person with aphasia more); (3) relationships (e.g., making new friends); (4) recreational activities and social life (e.g., taking up new hobbies); and (5) paid/volunteer work or education (e.g., volunteering to help people with aphasia). In addition, seven categories that described the negative effects of aphasia on family members were revealed: (1) physical, mental, and emotional health (e.g., tired); (2) communication (e.g., difficulty communicating with the person with aphasia); (3) relationships (e.g., lack of physical intimacy between spouses); (4) recreational activities and social life (e.g., restricted social activities); (5) paid/volunteer work or education (e.g., took extended time off work); (6) domestic and caregiving responsibilities (e.g., transporting the person with aphasia places); and (7) finances (e.g., loss of person with aphasia’s income). Research codes were mapped to two domains within the Body Functions component (i.e., Mental functions and Functions of the digestive, metabolic and endocrine systems) and eight domains within Activities and Participation components of the ICF (i.e., Learning and applying knowledge, General tasks and demands, Communication, Self-care, Domestic life, Interpersonal interactions and relationships, Major life areas, and Community, social and civic life). Health conditions (e.g., depression and anxiety) associated with the aphasia of a significant other were also identified in family members. Mapping of the qualitative research codes to the ICF demonstrated how the ICF framework could be applied to family members. The second phase of the study involved the development and validation of the SOS-Aphasia. The SOS-Aphasia items were derived from the constructs of third- party functioning and third-party disability identified in the qualitative study and the response scale format was based on the ICF. Following the development of the SOS- Aphasia, 104 family members completed the original 34-item version. Factor analysis and Rasch analysis were used to examine the underlying structure and internal construct validity of the SOS-Aphasia. Test-retest reliability and feasibility were also investigated. Based on the analysis, five SOS-Aphasia subscales were identified and viii 10 items marked for deletion. The revised 24-item SOS-Aphasia demonstrated preliminary evidence of good psychometric properties. In summary, this series of studies demonstrates that family members experience third-party functioning and third-party disability, as well as changes to their health, secondary to a significant other’s aphasia. In addition, the SOS-Aphasia shows validity and reliability in measuring third-party functioning and third-party disability. Together, these findings provide the motivation for the inclusion of family members of people with aphasia in a family-centred care model with implications for research, practice, and policy.