Smart tablet for smart self-administered treatment of verb anomia: two single-case studies in aphasia

Abstract

Background: Studies of verb anomia therapy in poststroke aphasia are rare, even though verbs are central to speech. In the great majority of studies, a traditional face-to-face setting with phonological, semantic, and/or sensorimotor cues is used to enhance lexical access. Technology-based therapy is expanding rapidly and has the potential to help individuals with aphasia improve verb retrieval abilities.

Aims: This study aimed to assess the treatment outcome of and satisfaction with a therapy for verb anomia in chronic poststroke aphasia using a tablet for self-administered treatment at home.

Methods & Procedures: Single-case studies were conducted with two participants who presented with chronic poststroke verb anomia. The following four phases were completed: (1) baseline measures; (2) training on the use of the tablet; (3) self-administered therapy with the tablet; and (4) follow-up, generalisation, and rating of the therapy measures. Twenty self-administered sessions were completed.

Outcomes & Results: A significant improvement in verb naming was observed for the two participants following therapy. No generalisation was found for untreated verbs or for treated verbs in a novel task. Both participants were very satisfied with the self-administered treatment using a tablet.

Conclusions: The use of tablet-based therapy to improve verb naming could be an interesting way to enhance rehabilitation of acquired language deficits. New technologies are promising and further studies are needed to demonstrate their usefulness and determine the pros and cons of using them in clinical settings.

Keywords:

• anomia
• therapy
• verbs
• computer
• tablet

Acknowledgement

The authors would like to thank the two participants and their families for participating in this study.

Notes

1. For P2, the standard deviation at baseline was equal to 0. Therefore, as suggested by Beeson and Robey (2006), the pooled standard deviation of the pre- and post-treatment measures was used to calculate effect sizes (Cohen, 1988; Busk & Serlin, 1992).

Additional information

Funding

The first author was supported by a Vanier Canada Graduate Scholarship for her doctoral degree (Canadian Institutes of Health Research).