Semantic Feature Analysis + Metacognitive Strategy Training = Improved Communication in Aphasia

What is it about?

This study tested whether adding metacognitive strategy training to traditional Semantic Feature Analysis (i.e., naming treatment) could improve people with aphasia's ability to retrieve the word for objects as well as their ability to talk around the words when the words themselves are not coming. Talking around the words can be helpful in retrieving the word themselves, and can also help listeners better guess the intended message.

Why is it important?

This is the first study to measure people with aphasia's ability to talk around words they cannot think of/say (i.e., circumlocute) as a core outcome of Semantic Feature Analysis. This was also the first study to give people with aphasia direct practice applying the circumlocution strategy independently, as opposed to with a clinician's guidance/prompting -- making this approach more likely to result in changes beyond the therapy room, as the patients gained direct experience applying the strategy themselves. Significant findings include: (a) all four participants achieved significant increases in at least one strategy-use outcome, and (b) participants and their loved ones reported noticeable changes in day-to-day communication.