The effects of a psycholinguistic training based on phonology and semantics on sentence production in an aphasic child with cerebral palsy.

Abstract

In aphasia, damage to brain regions responsible for language processing disrupts access to words previously learned and consolidated in the mental lexicon, causing people with aphasia (PWA) to experience word finding difficulties that negatively impact their everyday communication. This study seeks to investigate the effects of a psycholinguistic training based on phonology and semantics on sentence production in a aphasic child with cerebral palsy. The study used a single-subject multiple- baseline research design across behaviors. A 13-year-old boy, named AE with expressive aphasia, admitted to Speech and Swallowing Disorders Clinic, College of Applied Medical Sciences, King Saud University was recruited to participate in this study. The aphasic child with cerebral palsy was found to be successful at the end of the training sessions, compared to the baseline. In other words, there was a positive difference between the data obtained in the first and last training sessions for each child.