Evaluating Treatment and Generalization Patterns of Two Theoretically Motivated Sentence Comprehension Therapies

Abstract

Purpose The current study examined treatment outcomes and generalization patterns following 2 sentence comprehension therapies: object manipulation (OM) and sentence-to-picture matching (SPM). Findings were interpreted within the framework of specific deficit and resource reduction accounts, which were extended in order to examine the nature of generalization following treatment of sentence comprehension deficits in aphasia. Method Forty-eight individuals with aphasia were enrolled in 1 of 8 potential treatment assignments that varied by task (OM, SPM), complexity of trained sentences (complex, simple), and syntactic movement (noun phrase, wh -movement). Comprehension of trained and untrained sentences was probed before and after treatment using stimuli that differed from the treatment stimuli. Results Linear mixed-model analyses demonstrated that, although both OM and SPM treatments were effective, OM resulted in greater improvement than SPM. Analyses of covariance revealed main effects of complexity in generalization; generalization from complex to simple linguistically related sentences was observed both across task and across movement. Conclusions Results are consistent with the complexity account of treatment efficacy, as generalization effects were consistently observed from complex to simpler structures. Furthermore, results provide support for resource reduction accounts that suggest that generalization can extend across linguistic boundaries, such as across movement type.

Variability in sentence comprehension in aphasia in German

“…Previous studies had hypothesized that object manipulation is more demanding than sentence-picture matching (Caplan et al, 2013;Des Roches et al, 2016;Kiran et al, 2012;Salis & Edwards, 2009), or conversely, that sentence-picture matching is more demanding than object manipulation (Caplan et al, 2013;Cupples & Inglis, 1993). Considering the overall sentence comprehension performance, the differences in accuracies between the tasks were negligible.…”

“…On the other hand, pictures often display the action mentioned in the sentence which could facilitate comprehension in comparison to object manipulation tasks where the action of the sentence has to be enacted by the participant (Caplan et al, 2007a;Caplan et al, 2013;Des Roches et al, 2016;Kiran et al, 2012;Salis & Edwards, 2009). Additionally, object manipulation tasks require planning and executing a motor response and these executive processes might interfere with syntactic processing (Salis & Edwards, 2009).…”

A Review of the Application of Distributed Practice Principles to Naming Treatment in Aphasia

“…Such effects have been found in the learning of scientific concepts (e.g., Gluckman, Vlach, & Sandhofer, 2014) and natural categories (e.g., Wahlheim, Dunlosky, & Jacoby, 2011) as well as mathematical problem solving (e.g., Hopkins, Lyle, Hieb, & Ralston, 2016). In light of these findings, productive lines of aphasia research may involve examination of whether applying distributed practice principles enhances generalization in language abilities in aphasia, particularly in forms of treatment that show theoretically-grounded and robust generalization (e.g., Des Roches et al, 2016;Kiran, 2008;Thompson, Shapiro, Kiran & Sobecks, 2003).…”