| Abstract: |
To investigate the relationship between success in the acquisition of signs and the degree of severity of aphasic impairment, 12 chronic severely aphasic Ss (aged 30-67 yrs) participated in a training program for the acquisition of a vocabulary of manual signs. The Porch Index of Communicative Ability was used as a general measure of the severity of aphasic impairment. Results demonstrate a clear and significant relationship between severity of aphasia and success in the acquisition and generalization of manual signs. Findings indicate that there may be a threshold of severity of aphasia below which acquisition is negligible. |
