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Abstract
Background: Many people with aphasia show preservation of areas of cognition that do not rely on language comprehension or expression. However, several studies have reported on individuals, who have difficulty processing nonverbal events, i.e., they do not seem to make inferences about the outcome of observed events as easily as people without language impairment. The relative frequency of this deficit in those with aphasia is not well understood, however, because most studies have focused on only one or two individuals.
Aims: The aims of the current study were: (1) to investigate how frequently a deficit in nonverbal event processing would be found in a group of 28 individuals with chronic aphasia and (2) to explore the relationship between this deficit and standardised measures of language and nonverbal cognition.
Methods & Procedures: The Role Video and a battery of standardised language and nonverbal cognition assessments were given to 28 participants with chronic aphasia representing a range of aphasia severities and syndromes, and to 10 age-matched healthy controls. The Role Video, an assessment created by Marshall, Pring, and Chiat (Citation1993b), consists of 32 short videos each lasting approximately 5 seconds. The task is to watch each video and judge the outcome of the observed event by selecting a picture from a set of three. No language is spoken in the videos; nor is language required to respond.
Outcomes & Results: Results indicated that the group of PWA performed significantly worse on the Role Video than the healthy control group. Using a criterion of more than two standard deviations below the mean of the controls as indicative of impairment, a surprisingly large portion of the sample with aphasia (54%) had impaired event processing. The data analysis indicated deficits in event processing were related to impairments in language and nonverbal cognition.
Conclusions: Impaired event processing may be more common in aphasia than previously believed. This impairment has implications for treatment of aphasia, given that many communicative interactions require retelling of events either verbally or via augmentative means.