Base-10 programmed stimulation: task specification, scoring, and plotting performance in aphasia therapy

This report explains and advocates the applicability of time-series designs to document the effects of therapy with aphasic subjects; it describes a measurement system that contributes to organization of therapy, task specification and scoring, and graphic display of change in speech and language behaviors. Examples of patient performances illustrate the application of Base-10 Programmed Stimulation to therapy with aphasic persons.

Characteristics of visual stimuli and naming performance in aphasic adults

A confrontation naming task utilizing objects and pictures from the Porch Index of Communicative Ability was presented to 14 aphasic patients. Both initially correct and self-corrected naming responses were compared for the two sets of visual stimuli. In contrast to some studies that have also varied the physical characteristics of size, color and dimensionality, the present study (as well as two other studies) found no significant differences in naming performance for aphasic patients. This evidence would suggest that a choice between pictures and objects will seldom be crucial to diagnosis or therapy with aphasic naming problems.

[Today's treatment of aphasia--a travel report (author's transl)]

A visit was made to representative centres for the treatment of aphasia in five European countries and information gathered on their organisational structure. Instructional material and rehabilitation techniques were compared and a number of therapeutic methods identified. In this context it was noted that, due to a number of interesting approaches, the therapy of aphasia seems to be extensible and in many ways open to modifications.

A study of factors related to prognosis for individual aphasic patients

The clinical records of 39 aphasic patients were reviewed in order to identify and correlate factors noted in the initial examination with the patients' progress in communicative performance. Three nonlanguage variables (age, general health, and regularity of employment) and language variables (listening performance, talking performance, reading performance, writing performance, motor speech impairment, and speech stimulability) were studied. The results suggested that a high rate of prognostic accuracy may be attained through the application of some simple clinical observations concerning the patients' speech performance.

Psychiatric aspects of aphasia

Aphasia is frequently combined with or mistaken for other behavioural abnormalities, and the psychiatrist is often asked to see patients with aphasia. Recognition and appropriate diagnosis alone present a considerable challenge; in addition, a variety of behavioural disturbances occur in aphasie individuals which need the attention of the psychiatrist. Despite the frequent appearance of aphasie symptoms in medial practice, the disorder remains poorly understood by many medical practitioners, and the specific psychiatric aspects have received very little recognition. These conditions will be the subject of this presentation.