Multicue

Abstract

Wordfinding disturbances are frequently observed in all types of aphasia. Naming therapy using cueing techniques, can be an important aspect of the rehabilitation process, aiming at the facilitation of the wordfinding process. The relative effect of different types of cueing seems to be related to the locus of the impairment in the process of wordfinding. With respect to the effect of such therapy, however, clinicians often report that patients remain dependent on the cues given by the therapist and many of them will only benefit from ‘cueing therapy’ within the therapeutic situation. The idea behind the computer program ‘Multicue’ is to teach the patient which type of cueing can help to find a word. In a naming task, the patient can choose from a list which one of nine types of cues he or she wants to be shown. Cues all have a distinct function for the retrieval process: some cues are related to the particular picture to be named and give specific semantic and phonological information (‘filled’ cues), whereas others give a general hint (‘empty’ cues). The program is flexible: the patient can ask for any cue in any order and the amount of time spent on retrieving the word is indefinite. In a crossover design patients were trained by speech therapists and with Multicue. In our presentation we will describe the program and results with the patients will be discussed.