The Effects of Cueing in the Facilitation of Word Retrieval in Patients with Aphasia

Introduction: Anomia is one of the hallmarks of aphasia. Word retrieval can be facilitated by using phonological and semantic cueing strategies. Phonological cueing may be phonemically based consisting of the first consonant or first consonant plus vowel in a target word, while semantic cueing provides description of target words. Purpose of the study: To determine the effect of using phonological and semantic cueing on the facilitation of word retrieval in patients with aphasia and to compare the effect of phonological and semantic cues on picture naming accuracy. Patients and Methods: The study includes 30 participants that had suffered a left hemisphere cerebrovascular accident (CVA) at least 3 months prior to the start of the study. Each patient has carried out language assessment using the Arabic version of the Comprehensive Aphasia test (CAT) prior to treatment and post treatment. Naming tests scores (using phonemic and semantic cues) obtained in pretreatment baseline phase were compared to post-treatment scores. Results: Both phonological cueing and semantic cueing treatments improve word retrieval in participants. Naming tests scores has significantly improved for all participants. The results revealed beneficial effects of both phonological and semantic cues on word retrieval with the therapy sessions. Conclusion: Responsiveness to cues in picture naming assessment might provide a positive prognostic indicator for treatment. There was an improvement in the pre & post rehabilitation scores regarding naming objects, naming actions and spontaneous picture description among the two groups using phonemic & semantic cueing therapy.