A Cognitive Neuropsychological Approach to Assessment and Intervention in Aphasia

This is a second edition of the highly popular volume used by clinicians and students in the assessment and intervention of aphasia. It provides both a theoretical and practical reference to cognitive neuropsychological approaches for speech-language pathologists and therapists working with people with aphasia. Having evolved from the activity of a group of clinicians working with aphasia, it interprets the theoretical literature as it relates to aphasia, identifying available assessments and published intervention studies, and draws together a complex literature for the practicing clinician. The opening section of the book outlines the cognitive neuropsychological approach, and explains how it can be applied to assessment and interpretation of language processing impairments. Part 2 describes the deficits which can arise from impairments at different stages of language processing, and also provides an accessible guide to the use of assessment tools in identifying underlying impairments. The final part of the book provides systematic summaries of therapies reported in the literature, followed by a comprehensive synopsis of the current themes and issues confronting clinicians when drawing on cognitive neuropsychological theory in planning and evaluating intervention. This new edition has been updated and expanded to include the assessment and treatment of verbs as well as nouns, presenting recently published assessments and intervention studies. It also includes a principled discussion on how to conduct robust evaluations of intervention within the clinical and research settings. The book has been written by clinicians with hands-on experience. Like its predecessor, it will remain an invaluable resource for clinicians and students of speech-language pathology and related disciplines, in working with people with aphasia.

Anne Whitworth is Associate Professor at Curtin University, Western Australia. She is a researcher, clinician, and educator in the field of speech pathology, with particular interests in acquired neurological disorders. Janet Webster is a lecturer at Newcastle University, UK and a researcher and clinician who works in the Tavistock Aphasia Centre North East. She has a particular interest in sentence processing and reading difficulties in people with aphasia, with a focus on developing assessments and therapy materials for clinical use. David Howard is Research Professor in Speech and Language Sciences at Newcastle University, UK. He is a highly accomplished researcher and clinician in aphasiology with particular interests in the cognitive neuropsychology of language and memory.

A Cognitive Neuropsychological approach. Identifying and characterising impairments. Introduction to assessment. Auditory comprehension of spoken words. Spoken word production. Written comprehension and reading. Written word production. Object and picture recognition. Introduction to therapy. Therapy for auditory comprehension. Therapy for word retrieval and production. Therapy for reading. Therapy for writing.