Edith Chin Li

The effects of grammatic class and cue type on cueing responsiveness in aphasia

This study investigated the effects of two types of cues (semantic and phonemic) and two grammatic classes (noun and verb) on cueing responsiveness. Subjects consisted of 10 Brocas, 10 Wernickes, 8 conduction, and 8 anomic aphasics. Cues were administered following failure to name on confrontation. Responsiveness to the two types of cues was dependent on aphasic type and grammatic class. Brocas and conduction aphasics responded better to phonemic cueing, while anomic aphasics were more responsive to semantic cueing. With regard to grammatic class, aphasics responded better to phonemic cueing on nouns; however, no significant difference between types of cues was demonstrated on verbs. Neuropsychological implications for the cueing and naming processes are discussed.

The efficacy of pace in the remediation of naming deficits

This study compared the effects of PACE and traditional stimulation therapy in the remediation of naming deficits. The subject was a 66-year-old conduction aphasic. An ABCBC time-series design was employed. Greater gains were evidenced during the PACE phases of treatment on two types of probes--confrontation naming and picture description tasks.

The efficacy of two types of cues in aphasic patients

Abstract This study investigated the efficacy of two types of cues (phonemic and semantic) in aphasic patients with naming deficits. Subjects consisted of ten Brocas, ten Wernickes, eight conduction, and eight anomic aphasic subjects. Cues were administered following failure to name on confrontation. Responsiveness to cueing was dependent on type of cue and type of aphasia. Subjects performed better on phonemic as compared to semantic cues. In addition, aphasic subgroups responded differentially, with conduction subjects responding significantly better to cueing than Wernickes subjects. These findings are discussed with respect to the neuropsychological mechanisms involved in cueing.

An investigation of Luria's hypothesis on prompting in aphasic naming disturbances

This study investigated Lurias hypothesis that aphasic subgroups would respond differentially to phonemic prompts. Responsiveness to initial-sound cues was examined in 40 aphasics--10 Brocas, conduction, Wernickes, and anomic aphasics who had naming difficulties. Results, with the exception of the anomic aphasic group, supported Lurias predictions. Brocas aphasics were responsive to phonemic cueing, while Wernickes aphasics were not. Conduction aphasics tended to respond in a fashion similar to the Wernickes group. The relationship of cueing responsiveness to underlying naming mechanisms is discussed.

The influence of topic and listener familiarity on aphasic discourse

This study investigated the effects of listener and topic familiarity on verbal output. A total of 32 subjects were included: 5 Brocas, 7 conduction, and 10 anomic aphasics; and 10 normal controls. Subjects performed story retell and procedural discourse tasks containing familiar and unfamiliar topics. Tasks were completed with a familiar listener (spouse) and an unfamiliar listener (examiner). Results indicated that topic familiarity significantly influenced verbal output, however specific findings were dependent on task. In procedural discourse, the amount of verbal output (number of T-units) was significantly greater on familiar topics. In contrast, the complexity (number of words and clauses per T-unit) was significantly greater on unfamiliar topics. On story retell, verbal output (number of T-units) was also greater on familiar topics. However, grammatic complexity did not increase with unfamiliar topics. Words per T-unit remained higher on familiar topics. The variable of listener familiarity was not found to be significant.

An investigation of naming errors following semantic and phonemic cueing

This study investigated the types of verbal errors produced by aphasic patients following phonemic and semantic cueing. Twenty-eight aphasic patients--10 Brocas, 10 Wernickes and 8 conduction aphasics--served as subjects. Semantic and phonemic cues were administered on object and action confrontation-naming tasks. When subjects did not respond correctly to phonemic cueing, a significantly greater number of phonemic errors were produced, with a concurrent decline in related words and extended circumlocutions. When subjects failed to respond to semantic cueing on the action task, there was an increase in a number of error categories.

Repetition deficits in three aphasic syndromes

This study examined the repetition errors of three aphasic subgroups during a repetition task. A total of 95 subjects, including 32 conduction, 38 Brocas, and 25 Wernickes aphasics, repeated phrases and sentences from the Repeating Phrases Subtest of the Boston Diagnostic Aphasia Examination. Conduction aphasics exhibited a greater number of phonemic attempts, word revisions, and word and phrase repetitions. Brocas aphasics demonstrated more phonemic errors and omissions. Finally, Wernickes aphasics showed more unrelated words and jargon.

Varieties of errors produced by aphasic patients in phonemic cueing

Abstract This study investigated the types of verbal errors produced by aphasic patients when phonemic cueing was administered. Subjects consisted of 40 aphasic patients-10 each of Brocas, conduction, Wernickes and anomic aphasics. Phonemic cueing was employed following failure to name on confrontation. Prior to phonemic cueing the most frequent naming errors were related words in Brocas aphasics, multiple responses and extended circumlocutions in Wernickes aphasics, related words and multiple responses in conduction aphasics and related words in anomic aphasics. These errors predominated prior to correct and incorrect response to cueing. A separate analysis examined naming errors surrounding unsuccessful cueing response. In these instances the prevalence of related words and inadequate responses prior to cueing shifted to a significantly greater proportion of phonemic errors, semantic-phonemic errors, multiple responses and neologisms following cueing. These patterns of performance suggest that phone...

A normative study of the MSDTA given by imitation

This study presents normative data for the McDonald Screening Deep Test of Articulation (MSDTA) administered by imitation. The data were collected from 223 preschool children ranging from 24 months to 59 months of age. These norms are useful for rapid screening purposes. In addition, they provide input on the coarticulatory aspects of phonology, which may become part of the caseload selection and treatment processes.