๐ Textbook Time! ๐ โฃ
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A good textbook is invaluable when trying to dive into the specifics of a certain disorder or condition. When I find a text that is well-written and full of resources, I find that I come back to it time and time again.โฃ
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For alexia, here are the texts that I have found to be helpful as clinical resources:โฃ
Alexia Treatment: Life Participation Approach
In order for therapy to make the biggest impact, therapy tasks need to be centered around meaningful activities ๐ฃโฃ
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The ๐๐ถ๐ณ๐ฒ ๐ฃ๐ฎ๐ฟ๐๐ถ๐ฐ๐ถ๐ฝ๐ฎ๐๐ถ๐ผ๐ป ๐๐ฝ๐ฝ๐ฟ๐ผ๐ฎ๐ฐ๐ต ๐๐ผ ๐๐ฝ๐ต๐ฎ๐๐ถ๐ฎ utilizes a model known as the ๐-๐๐ฅ๐ข๐ (Living with Aphasia: Framework for Outcome Measurement). The A-FROM has 4 distinct domains that all contribute to living with aphasia.
Alexia Classifications
When diagnosing an alexia, there are 2 major types of classifications: ๐ฃ๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ถ๐ฝ๐ต๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ฎ๐น ๐๐น๐ฒ๐
๐ถ๐ฎ๐ and ๐๐ฒ๐ป๐๐ฟ๐ฎ๐น ๐๐น๐ฒ๐
๐ถ๐ฎ๐ โฃ
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๐๐ฆ๐ณ๐ช๐ฑ๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ณ๐ข๐ญ ๐๐ญ๐ฆ๐น๐ช๐ข๐ด affect the early stages of the reading process and involve difficulty perceiving the written word. In a Peripheral Alexia, individual letters may be misidentified and lead to errors such as reading โbookโ for BOOT.โฃ
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๐๐ฆ๐ฏ๐ต๐ณ๐ข๐ญ ๐๐ญ๐ฆ๐น๐ช๐ข๐ด affect the later stages of the reading process and involve impairments of lexical processing and sublexical processing. In a Central Alexia, the semantic system may be impaired which results in the word COW being misread as โhorseโ (thereby making a semantic substitution).โฃ
Assistive Technology: Text-to-Speech Software
Text-to-Speech is a type of assistive technology that reads digital text aloud. While there are quite a few Text-to-Speech (TTS) softwares and apps to choose from, several popular ones include the following:โฃ ๐ก๐ฎ๐๐๐ฟ๐ฎ๐น ๐ฅ๐ฒ๐ฎ๐ฑ๐ฒ๐ฟ, ๐ง๐ง๐ฆ๐ฅ๐ฒ๐ฎ๐ฑ๐ฒ๐ฟ, ๐ง๐ฎ๐น๐ธ ๐๐๐๐๐ผ๐ป, and ๐๐ฟ๐ผ๐๐๐ฒ๐ฎ๐น๐ผ๐๐ฑ.
Alexia Treatment: Discourse/Paragraph-Level Treatments
Treatment for alexia at the paragraph/discourse-level tends to emphasize metacognitive strategy use and environmental supports. โฃ Approaches you may consider using include:โฃ ๐๐๐๐ฒ๐ป๐๐ถ๐๐ฒ ๐ฅ๐ฒ๐ฎ๐ฑ๐ถ๐ป๐ด ๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ ๐๐ผ๐ป๐๐๐ฟ๐ฎ๐ถ๐ป๐ฒ๐ฑ ๐ฆ๐๐บ๐บ๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ถ๐๐ฎ๐๐ถ๐ผ๐ป (๐๐๐ฅ๐ฆ), PQRST, and Supported Reading Comprehension Strategies.
The Neuroscience of Reading
Reading is not something that we are inherently hard-wired to do, like talking or listening. Instead, we need to be taught this skill through direct instruction. โฃ
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In order to accomplish this, we rely on the brainโs ability to change itself (also called ๐ป๐ฒ๐๐ฟ๐ผ๐ฝ๐น๐ฎ๐๐๐ถ๐ฐ๐ถ๐๐). Through neuroplasticity, neurological pathways are developed throughout the brain that allow for the skill of reading to develop and solidify.โฃ
Alexia Assessment: Paragraph/Discourse-Level Assessments
When assessing reading skills at the paragraph/discourse-level, emphasis is typically placed on comprehension of stated and implied main ideas โฃ
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By utilizing a paragraph/discourse-level assessment, youโll get better insight into your clientโs inferencing skills, the effect of text length on comprehension, and better insight into how reading difficulties may impact functional reading tasks in everyday life (such as reading a menu or reading an online news article) โฃ
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Oral Reading for Language in Aphasia
Looking for a general sentence/discourse-level treatment for alexia? Consider checking out ๐ข๐ฟ๐ฎ๐น ๐ฅ๐ฒ๐ฎ๐ฑ๐ถ๐ป๐ด ๐ณ๐ผ๐ฟ ๐๐ฎ๐ป๐ด๐๐ฎ๐ด๐ฒ ๐ถ๐ป ๐๐ฝ๐ต๐ฎ๐๐ถ๐ฎ (ORLA)!โฃ
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ORLA is based on a stimulation approach, where repetitive practice through multiple modalities leads to over-learning of skills (and therefore better maintenance of therapy gains)โฃ
Assistive Technology: iPhone Speak Screen
Many people are familiar with text-to-speech apps that are downloaded onto a computer or phone, but did you know that many smartphones have their own built-in text-to-speech programs? ๐ฑ โฃ
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๐ถ๐ฃ๐ต๐ผ๐ป๐ฒ ๐ฆ๐ฝ๐ฒ๐ฎ๐ธ ๐ฆ๐ฐ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ฒ๐ป is an accessibility option that will enable the iPhone to read aloud all the text on the phone screen. Whether you are browsing through the IG app, checking the weather on your phone, or reading online news articles on Safari, iPhone Speak Screen can read aloud almost any text displayed! ๐ โฃ
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Alexia Treatment: Sentence-Level Treatments
Begin Aphasia Therapy with the End in Mind
By beginning aphasia therapy with the end in mind, we are creating our goals and treatment plans with the understanding that we may only be seeing our patients for a limited amount of time. It is imperative then that we work with our patients to determine what it is that they are looking to achieve in treatment and what would be most helpful for them in this amount of time.โฃ
Alexia Assessment: Sentence-Level Assessments
While some people with alexia will be relatively successful reading single words, they may encounter difficulty reading at the sentence-level. ๐ โฃ When assessing reading at the sentence-level, it will be helpful to look at factors beyond just decoding/reading single words in order to determine where the breakdown in reading lies. ๐ โฃ
Taking Semantic Feature Analysis to the Next Level
Semantic Feature Analysis (SFA) is a well-known treatment technique in the SLP world. SFA aims to improve word-finding via spreading activation within the semantic system, and has been shown to result in significant improvements in confrontation naming (Quique, Evans, and Dickey, 2019).โฃ
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While SFA is a powerful tool by itself, researchers have continued to modify and enhance the protocol in order to optimize outcomes. Here are a some ways you can enhance SFA treatment:โฃ
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Aphasia Access
Managing Aphasia in a Culturally Diverse World
Aphasia Therapy in Seattle, WA
Assistive Technology--CPen Reader
Many assistive technologies exist to help people with communication disorders better navigate the world. When it comes to reading, however, one of the most powerful is the ๐-๐ฃ๐ฒ๐ป ๐ฅ๐ฒ๐ฎ๐ฑ๐ฒ๐ฟ!โฃ The C-Pen Reader is a portable, pocket-sized pen that is able to scan printed words and read them aloud. The pen has a built-in dictionary that allows it to provide a definition for any word scanned, and even allows scanned text to be uploaded to a PC or Mac!โฃ
Alexia Treatment--Combined Lexical and Sublexical Approach
For many people with alexia, there is no one single cause for their reading difficulties. Rather, there are a variety of language processing components that are compromised and result in difficulty reading single words.โฃ ๐๐ผ๐บ๐ฏ๐ถ๐ป๐ฒ๐ฑ ๐๐ฒ๐ ๐ถ๐ฐ๐ฎ๐น ๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ ๐ฆ๐๐ฏ๐น๐ฒ๐ ๐ถ๐ฐ๐ฎ๐น ๐ง๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ฎ๐๐บ๐ฒ๐ป๐ (Johnson, Ross, & Kiran, 2017) is designed to target ๐ผ๐๐ aspects of written word processing. โฃ
Alexia Assessment--The Arizona Battery for Reading and Spelling
Alexia assessment is no simple taskโthere are LOTS of variables to consider that can influence reading performance, and it can be difficult to tease apart where a personโs breakdown in reading lies.โฃ When assessing alexia at the single-word level, one of the most powerful assessments out there is the ๐๐ฟ๐ถ๐๐ผ๐ป๐ฎ ๐๐ฎ๐๐๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ ๐ณ๐ผ๐ฟ ๐ฅ๐ฒ๐ฎ๐ฑ๐ถ๐ป๐ด ๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ ๐ฆ๐ฝ๐ฒ๐น๐น๐ถ๐ป๐ด (ABRS). โฃ
Aphasia Resources in the Greater Seattle, WA Area
Seattle, WA is home to many stroke and aphasia support groups in the city itself and surrounding areas. The University of Washingtonโs Aphasia Research Labโs Community Resource Packet is a fantastic collection of resources for people with aphasia in the Seattle, WA area, and the support groups that they highlight in their packet include: