Reducing Anomia

My purpose for seeking a Master’s Degree in Speech Pathology is so I can have the opportunity to expand my knowledge of theory and research methods as it pertains to communication disorders. I particularly want to modify my research skills as I believe that the importance of improving research skills is necessary to becoming a lifelong learner as I prepare for a career in Speech Language Pathology. I fully understand the importance of gaining credibility among my future colleagues and those that I will be serving in the field. I want to develop a clear and concise knowledge of leadership and the communication disorders profession and how to coincide both as one; at the same time enjoying the opportunity to develop a network of scholars. The ability to experience the community and devotion that my fellow cohort mates will be able to offer.

The scope of practice of speech-language pathology describes the ethical and clinical responsibility of clinicians to implement therapy techniques, which contains efficacy that is supported by evidence. Non-speech oral-motor exercises (NSOMEs), in particular have raised controversy among speech-language pathologists (SLPs) and researchers when treating children with articulation and phonological disorders. The use of NSOMEs is a debated issue in the profession due to the lack of evidence based practice (EBP), poor clinical assumptions, and the avoidance of meeting the client’s needs.

The American Speech- Language- Hearing Association (2011) has clearly stated the scope of practice for practicing Speech Language Pathologist as it relates to Augmentative Alternative Communication. It includes:

Language is an ability that many of us take for granted in everyday life. For those with aphasia, it is a daily struggle to overcome and effective communication is a goal to strive for. Aphasia patients are able to think, perhaps as well as the average person, but they simply cannot convey their ideas or thoughts easily. The Boston Diagnostic Aphasia Examination is an excellent examination for the diagnosis of the presence and type of aphasia, and for the location of brain damage. The Minnesota Test for Differential Diagnosis of Aphasia has been shown to be the most comprehensive assessment of the overall patient’s strengths and weaknesses in regard to language; it also allows for physicians to predict recovery accurately. Though it is no longer as popular or applicable as newer diagnostic tests, such as the BDAE, it is still an accurate assessment for aphasia. I think this is the paradox in neurological assessment: as technological advances improve, older assessments are becoming invalidated- though they are not inaccurate assessments. New advances and knowledge are being acquired in medicine every day, therefore there is always room for improvement (Holland, 2008). One of the biggest cons to the two batteries I mentioned in this paper is the fact that they are both time consuming- for both the patient and the

Brief Summary of the Procedure: The student will select a category or topic for the semantic feature analysis. The teacher will provide students with key vocabulary words and important characteristics related to the topic. The words will be at the left column and the different characteristics of the topic will be across the top row of the table/chart. The student can put a check sign when the word align with the particular characteristic of the topic and sign if not. The student has the option to

The first article, The efficacy of the cycles approach: A multiple baseline design explored three participants from age 4:3 to 5:3 using the cycles approach in cycles of therapy. The cycles approach uses pattern based targets. This could be difficult to implement for Jacob. Jacob does not say any intelligible words consistently. However, the second key component described in this of targeting problematic patterns in a cycles approach without the criteria of meeting proficiency. This study would apply to Jacob’s treatment. Participants in this study exhibited Speech Sound Disorders that greatly influenced their intelligibility. Two out of three participants in the study made rapid improvement. Due to Jacob’s low intelligibility, this method would be beneficial for his improvement.

Aphasia is an acquired neurological disorder results from damage to the brain. Aphasia has different disorders, all which can have varying degrees and impairments. The main areas aphasia affects are spoken expressive language, spoken comprehension of language, written expression, and reading comprehension. Aphasia can be caused by a variety of brain injuries such as brain tumors, surgery, and traumatic brain injury. The most common cause of aphasia however is a stroke, with up to 50% of survivors experiencing some type of aphasia (Maher 2010). With a great number of people who experience aphasia, there is not just one treatment that helps all. Treatment plans for those who have aphasia are individualized to each person based on the specific

On March 7, 2016, I observed Makenzie Cockerill in room A117 from 10:00-10:45 am. The client was preschool-aged. The clinician informed me that the client had low intelligibility. The objectives of the day were to work on the /b/ sounds and beginning vowel sounds. The clinician also planned to do a mini screening of Child Apraxia of Speech. However, she informed me that she didn’t believe that this was the case in the child, but they wanted to rule it out. The client had multiple speech sounds in error, so the clinician implemented a cyclical strategy.

The findings for this study revealed that both treatments led to improvements in the naming of trained words, and that there was no marked difference between the two treatments. “Generalized naming improvements were noted for three individuals with phonological anomia. GES improved the use of corresponding gestures for trained words.”(p.235-236) Results were largely maintained after treatment was completed. “It was noted that following the GES treatment, gesture use did increase which provided an opportunity for a compensatory method for individuals whose verbal skills did not

The use of Evidenced-Based Practice (EBP) is required by universities throughout Undergraduate programs in Communication Science-Disorders, Graduate programs in Masters of Arts or Science in Speech-Language Pathology, and during Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) programs in Speech-Language-Hearing Sciences. The implementation of EBP in all my assignments significantly increased during my first semester in the Masters of Arts program for Speech-Language Pathology at Lehman College. During the use of EBP for assignments, I have relayed on my clinical judgment to question: the methodologies, how and why certain groups were selected, the author/s’ purpose for writing the article, the most valuable piece of information, the inferences and conclusions, and how it will impact the field of speech-language pathology. I also used evidence-based research while writing reports and justifications for therapy techniques and goals; during the search for articles I had to consider how it would impact the client and his/her family, as well as the meaning it would add to the therapy session. Moreover, I encountered acronyms and new vocabulary that are currently being used in the field such as MGRs- Mental Graphemic Representations, and tDCS- transcranial Direct Current

The participation model begins by identifying the participation patterns and communication needs where the clinician then identifies participation barriers (Beukelman & Mirenda, 2013, p. 108). SLP’s are then taught to differentiate between assessing opportunity barriers and assessing access barriers in the concept that the working clinician evaluates policy, practice, facilitator skill, facilitator knowledge, attitude, and current communication (Beukelman & Mirenda, 2013, p. 108). The client’s current communication assessment includes a full assessment of their possible potential to increase natural abilities, an assessment of potential environmental adaptations, and an assessment of the potential to utilize AAC systems or devices (Beukelman & Mirenda, 2013, p. 108). Once there has been a thorough analysis the speech language pathologist should plan and implement interventions that will span across the present and the future with a follow up to determine how effective the intervention has been in advancing a client’s participation (Beukelman & Mirenda, 2013, p.

Based on the outcome assessments the speech therapist may find alternatives to increase treatment outcomes.

Although evidence was accumulating for the use of SFA for treating anomia, and more was understood about differential access to verbs and nouns, knowledge gaps remained in both theory and in clinical practice. Indeed, Conroy (2006) proposed that “there has been limited consideration as to whether the differences between nouns and verbs influence the choice and outcome of therapy for verb retrieval difficulties and therapy responsiveness,” implying that even if verbs and nouns are different, that may not mean they require different therapies and too little was known about the effectiveness of verb retrieval therapies. Thus, just as the evidence for noun-based therapies had accumulated, researchers

Aphasia is a language disorder that results from damage to portions of the brain that are responsible for language. For most people, these are parts of the left side (hemisphere) of the brain. Aphasia usually occurs suddenly, often as the result of a stroke or head injury, but it may also develop slowly, as in the case of a brain tumor. The disorder impairs the expression and understanding of language as well as reading and writing. “Aphasia may co-occur with speech disorders such as dysarthria or apraxia of speech, which also result from brain damage”. (Sarno 23)

Woodcock Johnson Test of Psycholinguistic Abilities Revised. It has good high level tasks for specific drill down areas and strong norms including pediatrics /grade level equivalents but is not normed for ABI or other disease categories.