Speech & Writing (expressive language)
Word-retrieval at the letter or
word level (Aphasia )
Example: Patient may
have difficulty naming everyday objects ("I....
thirsty... cold cubes." instead of "I'm thirsty, I want
water with ice."
Test:
point to 10 common objects. Can the patient say
all 10 in 1 minute? Can they spell out (with pencil or
letter tiles) all 10 in 5 minutes? Any difficulty with
either task suggests possible word-retrieval difficulty.
Word-retrieval (speech) at sentence level
Aphasia )
Example:
The patient has difficulty speaking in complete,
grammatical sentences. Might speak in telegraphic speech
("I hungry. Go store. Eat."
Test:
Point to a picture of some action (maybe a man throwing
a ball) and see if they can describe it in a complete
sentence.) Ask them a question ("What did you eat
today?") and have them answer in a complete sentence ("
I ate waffles this morning")?
Speech clarity/articulation (Apraxia, Dysarthria) Patient's speech is not not clear (difficult to understand)
even when reading aloud.
Example:
May have difficulty clearly speaking the word for common objects (spoon,
fork, glass). They might even have difficulty
reading words aloud, or
repeating the word back after you say it.
Test : Ask the
patient to speak the name of each of 10 things you point
to. Can they say them clearly? Can they read the words
aloud clearly?
Speaking
too quickly or slowly (Dysarthria)
Might have dysarthria
(weakness or discoordination of the mouth muscles.)
Example:
Speech might
be slurred. May "run out of" breath while speaking, or speak too softly.
Test : If you can make them
speak more slowly (maybe one word at a time), is it
easier to understand them?
Speaking numbers clearly (Aphasia, Apraxia) Difficulty reading numbers out loud clearly.
Test : Have them read aloud
some numbers such as: 3468 or $2,345.52 or a
phone number (540) 951-0623. Try this 5 or 10 times. If
they get any digit wrong, they need help with this.
Voice therapy (Dysphonia, etc.) Difficulty controlling the pitch and loudness of the
voice.
This is therapy for the voice ,
not for speech .
Example:
Difficulty with
controlling pitch or loudness of their voice.
Reading Comprehension - Receptive Aphasia
Difficulty understanding what they read.
Difficulty
reading words
Example: Difficulty
matching written words to pictures.
Difficulty
reading sentences .
Example:
Difficulty matching written
sentences to pictures.
Difficulty
reading at paragraph level and higher .
Example:
Give them a paragraph to read with a written question
and several written answer. Try that 4 or 5 times. If
they get the right answer every time they are probably
reading at that level fairly well. Try at higher levels
(multiple paragraphs and then maybe a full story from a
newspaper).
Auditory Processing & Comprehension
Understanding speech they hear.
Example:
They may have
trouble understanding someone speaking to them.
Might have difficulty comprehending and following
spoken instructions.
Test :
As them to point to the utensil you eat with that
is not a fork or a knife (and show them a place setting
with fork, knife, spoon, plate, glass). Then ask
them to point to the utensil you'd need to eat a steak
(knife).
Memory & Reasoning (cognition )
Short-term memory They have difficulty
remembering instructions, something you just told them,
etc.
Example:
If you ask them to
put the glass on the table and get a napkin out of the
drawer, they have difficulty completing that task.
Understanding word relationships -Cognition They have difficulty understanding how words relate to
each other.
Example:
They might not realize which
word doesn't belong in the following: Egg, Cheese,
Rock, Ice-cream. Or, if you give them a group (Horse,
chicken, mule, they might have difficulty naming the
category (farm animals))
Problem-solving
Example:
Solving simple problems such as following cooking
recipes or TV schedules, or understanding traffic signs.
