A “novel” reading therapy programme for reading difficulties after a subarachnoid haemorrhage

Abstract

Cruice, M. (2013) A "novel" reading therapy programme for reading difficulties after a subarachnoid haemorrhage. Aphasiology A "novel" reading therapy programme for reading difficulties after a subarachnoid haemorrhage ABSTRACT Background: Although several treatments for acquired reading difficulties exist, few studies have explored the effectiveness of treatment for mild reading difficulties and treatment for reading difficulties associated with cognitive impairment. Aims: This study explored the effectiveness of an individual strategy-based reading treatment of 11 sessions given to a female participant (IW) who had mild reading difficulties following a subarachnoid haemorrhage (SAH). The impact of treatment on reading ability, confidence and emotions associated with reading were investigated. Methods & Procedures: Treatment focussed on the use of strategies to support IW's memory when reading books, the use of a checklist to select appropriate reading materials, and increasing IW's confidence in discussing the book she was reading with others. A person-centred approach and personally relevant materials were used throughout the treatment. Reading ability was assessed using the Gray Oral Reading Tests (GORT-4; Lee Wiederholt & Bryant, 2001), and IW's perspective was obtained using the Reading Confidence and Emotions Questionnaire (RCEQ; see Cocks et al., 2010). Pre-treatment, post-treatment and maintenance (7 weeks post) assessments were undertaken, with an additional exit interview at the final time point. Outcomes & Results: Gains were noted in reading rate, accuracy, comprehension, and confidence, with parallel increased pleasure gained from reading and reduced negative emotions and frustration. Self-reported gains included conversing with 3 Author's final draft of Cocks, N., Pritchard, M., Cornish, H., Thompson, N., & Cruice, M. (2013) A "novel" reading therapy programme for reading difficulties after a subarachnoid haemorrhage. Aphasiology others about material read, verbal communication, and re-engagement with the identity of being a reader. Conclusions: Strategy-based treatment resulted in positive gains in reading for pleasure, conversation, and identity, for an individual with mild chronic reading difficulties. Participant self-report and interview reveal the true value of this treatment for the individual. The positive results suggest that further research is warranted that investigates the effectiveness of strategy-based reading therapy approaches for others with acquired reading difficulties. MAIN TEXT While text-level reading difficulties are common after stroke and head injury, most reading therapy protocols that have been published have focused on reading single words (e.g., Beeson, Rising, Kim, & Rapcsak, 2010; Nickels, 1992). While these may be appropriate for clients who have more severe difficulties, or difficulties with specific aspects of reading e.g. grapheme-to-phoneme conversion, they are not appropriate for clients who have more mild reading difficulties associated with an underlying cogn...

Profiling text comprehension impairments in aphasia

“…At the present time, there are few options for assessing text-level reading (Ellmo, Graser, Krchnavek, Hauck, & Calabrese, 1995;LaPointe & Horner, 1998) and available assessments "provide limited direction regarding treatment; they give limited insight into the nature of the underlying difficulty or what strategies are likely to be beneficial" (Webster et al, 2013(Webster et al, , p. 1374. A concise review of existing therapy approaches is given in Webster et al (2013), which also adds to the growing set of case studies on remediation of text comprehension impairments in aphasia (Cocks, Pritchard, Cornish, Johnson, & Cruice, 2013;Coelho, 2005;Lynch, Damico, Damico, Tetnowski, & Tetnowski, 2009;Meteyard, Bruce, Edmundson, & Ayre, 2010;Potts & Morris, 2010;Rogalski & Edmonds, 2008;Sinotte & Coelho, 2007). Here we focus on assessment and on what tasks and approaches can be used to better understand the nature of text comprehension impairments in aphasia.…”

“…Crucially for aphasia rehabilitation, meta-cognitive strategies can be used to improve text comprehension (Cocks et al, 2013;Coelho, 2005;Meteyard et al, 2010;Rogalski & Edmonds, 2008;Sinotte & Coelho, 2007;Webster et al, 2013).…”

Effects of word frequency and contextual predictability on sentence reading in aphasia: an eye movement analysis

“…Cocks, Pritchard, Cornish, Johnson, & Cruice, 2013;Coelho, 2005;Meteyard, Bruce, Edmundson, & Oakhill, 2015). The reasons for reading difficulties can be myriad, as successful reading is based on the accurate and timely interplay of visual, linguistic and cognitive processes.…”

Treating reading comprehension deficits in sub-acute brain injury rehabilitation: Identifying clinical practice and management

“…There is a small but growing trend for research into solely strategy-based interventions for discourse reading in pwABI (arising from cognitive-communication deficits and aphasia), with five publications identified in the past six years 47,88,[94][95][96] . All five studies used contentbased and cognitive / metacognitive reading strategies, with three also using visual strategies 88,94,95 .…”

“…All five studies used contentbased and cognitive / metacognitive reading strategies, with three also using visual strategies 88,94,95 . The strategies used across these five papers were also identified by the participants in our survey.…”