A diagnosis of PPA requires at least two years of relatively isolated language impairment with generally intact functioning in other cognitive abilities e. Conditions such as stroke, cancer, trauma, or tumors must be ruled out as reasons for the aphasia.
Differential Diagnosis: Primary Progressive Apraxia is another neurodegenerative disorder that first presents with communication difficulties. Impaired speech , rather than language , is the first symptom of the disorder. A neurologist can diagnose PPA, often with the help of brain imaging studies, an evaluation by a speech-language pathologist, and other medical and neuropsychological tests. There can be a genetic component to PPA, but most cases are not hereditary.
All cases of PPA are unique, but there are a few unique patterns to the impairments. Three types of PPA have now been established:. People with the semantic subtype of PPA have difficulty understanding once-familiar words. People with the logopenic subtype of PPA are most challenged by finding the right words, though they retain the understanding of these words. Difficulty with short-term memory of sound impairs comprehension and repetition of longer sentences.
The nonfluent or agrammatic subtype of PPA is characterized by poor speech output that is often hard to understand and effortful to produce. PPA is a degenerative condition that gets worse over time with no known cure. Treatments serve to slow the progression of the disease and improve quality of life. There is no medication that has been proven effective to treat PPA. There are studies underway that show promise for brain stimulation treatments, as well as studies to better understand PPA to develop more effective therapies.
Speech-language pathologists SLP can provide valuable interventions to maximize communication for as long as possible. Treatment can take two approaches: stimulation of impaired abilities to strengthen and preserve function for as long as possible, and compensatory strategies to make up for lost or declining skills. Throughout the progression of PPA, speech-language therapy can:. Family, friends, and caregivers play an important role in fostering a successful communication environment for persons with PPA.
To support language expression and comprehension, communication partners can:. PPA is a challenging language disorder that requires a team approach with supportive professionals and caregivers. If you believe you or a loved one may have PPA, please consult your physician.
The National Aphasia Association. AlphaTopics AAC can provide support with a letter board, topic board, and whiteboard. Buy Now Learn More. Language Therapy 4-in-1 can provide stimulation of language skills with personalized content. Conversation Therapy can be used to practice conversational strategies in therapy and at home. A copy of it is available here.
The following is the abstract submitted to ASHA and also the full list of references we used for this study, not just those used for the poster. Learning objective: Discourse analysis provides one way to identify the subtle impairments that may characterize the language of people with mild aphasia.
These are valuable but time consuming. Her research is focused on determining optimal dosage parameters session length, session frequency, total treatment duration, etc. She is also interested in improving functional treatment options for people with mild aphasia, with an emphasis on return to employment.
Discourse analysis is an alternative to insufficient assessments for people with mild aphasia. By calculating correct informational units, one can determine both the efficiency and the informativeness of discourse.
While effective, this method is time consuming and unreasonable for a busy SLP. Using transcripts from AphasiaBank, we explore whether simple verb usage is predictive of each these discourse measures. Standardized batteries lack sensitivity but discourse measures can demonstrate impairments warranting language treatment Fromm et al. In order to identify a faster, simpler method of discourse analysis, we explore the relationship between verb use and informativeness, efficiency, and overall CIU count.
Specifically, we investigate whether the number of:. Strength of associations were determined based on. Simple linear regressions were conducted for variables with significant correlations to determine whether verb use predicted the various discourse measures. Results of the regression indicated that correct verb use explained The simple tallying of verbs may offer an efficient, practical alternative to analyzing discourse for CIUs.
Our results suggest that CIU counts can be predicted by total verb use and, by extension, the efficiency and informativeness of discourse. These results may have immediate clinical utility. Andreetta, Sara. Narrative discourse in anomic aphasia. Armstrong, L. Aphasiology, 21 , Armstrong, E. Mild Aphasia: Is this the place for an argument?.
Breedin, S. Cognitive Neuropsychology, 13 1 , Bryant, L. Linguistic analysis of discourse in aphasia: A review of the literature. Clinical use of linguistic discourse analysis for the assessment of language in aphasia. Clients with communicative deficits. In what languages is the measure available? English Frattali et al. What types of clients can the tool be used for? Is this a screening Testing for disease in people without symptoms. It is generally understood to be the extent to which a measure is stable or consistent and produces similar results when administered repeatedly.
The total variation in any given score may be thought of as consisting of true variation the variation of interest and error variation which includes random error as well as systematic error. True variation is that variation which actually reflects differences in the construct under study, e. Systematic error refers to bias that influences scores in a specific direction in a fairly consistent way, e.
There are many variations on the measurement of reliability including alternate-forms, internal consistency , inter-rater agreement , intra-rater agreement , and test-retest.
Internal consistency A method of measuring reliability. More : One study examined the Internal consistency A method of measuring reliability. More of the ASHA-FACS and reported that, after deleting items with low correlations, all the other items scores and domain scores correlated well with the overall score. Intra-rater: One study examined the intra-rater reliability This is a type of reliability assessment in which the same assessment is completed by the same rater on two or more occasions.
Inter-rater: One study examined the inter-rater reliability A method of measuring reliability. Validity The degree to which an assessment measures what it is supposed to measure. Content: One study examined the content validity Refers to the extent to which a measure represents all aspects of a given social concept.
Construct: Convergent: Two studies examined the convergent validity A type of validity that is determined by hypothesizing and examining the overlap between two or more tests that presumably measure the same construct. In other words, convergent validity is used to evaluate the degree to which two or more measures that theoretically should be related to each other are, in fact, observed to be related to each other. Known Groups: One study examined known groups validity Known groups validity is a form of construct validation in which the validity is determined by the degree to which an instrument can demonstate different scores for groups know to vary on the variables being measured.
One study examined the Sensitivity Sensitivity refers to the probability that a diagnostic technique will detect a particular disease or condition when it does indeed exist in a patient National Multiple Sclerosis Society.
The Aphasia Institute, Canada Checklist Score, as the gold standard A measurement that is widely accepted as being the best available to measure a construct. Does the tool detect change in patients? No studies have examined the responsiveness The ability of an instrument to detect clinically important change over time. Acceptability Examiners must have adequate opportunity for direct observation of communication at home or in the community.
Additional information, as required, may be obtained from the significant other. How to obtain the tool? Reliability Internal Consistency A method of measuring reliability.
Validity Content: Davidson, Worral and Hickson analyzed the content validity Refers to the extent to which a measure represents all aspects of a given social concept. Responsiveness No studies have reported the responsiveness The ability of an instrument to detect clinically important change over time.
References Adamovich, B. Blomert, L. Amsterdam-Nijmegen Everyday Language Test: construction, reliability and validity. Aphasiology , 8, Davidson, B. Identifying the communication activities of older people with aphasia: Evidence from naturalistic observation. Aphasiology , 17, Frattali, C. ASHA , 7, Glueckauf, R. Functional questionnaire for aphasia: overview and preliminary psychometric evaluation. Neurorehabilitation , 18, Hagen, C. Keith, R.
The functional independence measure: A new tool for rehabilitation.
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