| Abstract: |
A cognitive neuropsychological model of language processing was used to establish the levels of impairment in auditory comprehension in a 50-yr-old male client with dysphasia following a cerebrovascular accident (CVA). After initial assessment of impairment (pre-lexical access, semantic processing, and sentence processing) during 4-7 wks post-CVA, 3 separate phases of therapy for auditory comprehension were administered: (1) semantic therapy, (2) semantic plus auditory therapy, and (3) sentence therapy, designed to enhance the processing of words in a sentence. Four assessments were used to measure changes between each therapy phase. Picture minimal pair judgment, spoken and written word-to-picture matching, and sentence comprehension tasks were administered. Results demonstrate improvement on task performance between therapy phases. The pattern of improvement suggests specific effects of treatment and generalization. Examples of the client's communication before and after treatment are appended. |
