Language-based cognitive abilities in adult aphasia: rationale for intervention.

The purpose of this investigation is to explore operational definitions of cognition, intelligence, information processing, language-based cognitive abilities, cognitive processes and products, problem solving, decision making, and the complex events that happen in the brain when one stimulates a patient. These definitions are explored in order to develop a coherent and generative rationale for therapy. It is hypothesized that a specification of the underlying targets of our stimulation therapy may increase the effectiveness of our intervention efforts.

The speech clinician's use of fiberoptics in indirect laryngoscopy.

This paper explores the use of fiberoptics in indirect laryngoscopy and encourages the speech pathologist to use this procedure in a diagnostic and therapeutic context. Routine use of this procedure by speech pathologists would broaden the role definition of the voice clinician as a skilled evaluator of vocal-fold pathologies.

Semantic judgment ability in adult aphasia.

Recent psycholinguistic literature suggests that language usage often involves the ability to make judgments or appraisals about various aspects of language. It was therefore the purpose of the present study to examine the semantic judgment or evaluation abilities of thirty persons with aphasia in comparison to these same behaviors in a group of thirty normal individuals. That is, this study examined subject ability to use knowledge to make comparisons or judgments in reference to specific criteria.

Diagnosis and intervention of adult articulation errors based on distinctive feature theory and the Mysak feedback model of therapy.

This article explores the applicability of distinctive feature theory to the phonological problems of high school and college students and to a feedback model of therapy. Results suggest that high school and college students with numerous substitutions have phonological errors that can be accounted for on a distinctive feature basis. Therefore, diagnosis of such students should include a distinctive feature analysis.

Adult aphasics: relationship between convergent and divergent semantic behavior.

The purpose of the present study was to empirically evaluate the relationship between the ability of 30 aphasic subjects to produce a number and a variety of semantic responses with their ability to produce highly, knowledge-oriented, automatic responses. That is, the relationship between divergent and convergent semantic behaviors was explored. Use of both types of tasks will more adequately reflect the semantic strategies needed for spontaneous communication in day-to-day life situations.

Aphasia: a divergent semantic interpretation.

The present paper reinterprets aphasia relative to the divergent and convergent components of Guilford's model of behavior. It suggests that some aphasiologists have defined aphasia as a convergent semantic disorder. They have determined the presence or absence of an aphasic impairment on the basis of each individual's ability to recognize and reproduce previously learned material and to converge upon one correct answer.

Divergent semantic behavior in aphasia.

The purpose of the present study was to examine the divergent semantic behaviors of 30 persons with aphasia in comparison to these same behaviors in a group of 30 normal individuals. Specifically, this study examined fluency or the number of ideas produced, flexibility or the variety of ideas produced, and communality within each subject group and between the two groups. Results support the existence of the divergent mental operation and indicate that persons with aphasia are impaired in their ability to generate semantic responses under this operation.