Strategic learning in the rehabilitation of semantic knowledge

Abstract

The aim of the present study was to evaluate the efficacy of a reorganisation approach in the rehabilitation of simple arithmetic deficits as an instance of disturbed semantic knowledge. We report the case of FS, who underwent targeted training to overcome specific difficulties with multiplication facts. The programme was based on the strategic use of his residual knowledge and explicit reference to the principles underlying simple arithmetic. The purpose of this approach was to facilitate the reacquisition process by reducing the number of facts to be memorised and inducing a meaningful organisation of this knowledge in memory. The positive outcome of the intervention speaks in favour of a reorganisation rationale in the rehabilitation of arithmetic skills, where the integration of declarative, procedural, and conceptual knowledge critically mediate the re-acquisition process.