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Many people with aphasia have inadequate language skills for functional communication thereby necessitating well-designed augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) interfaces. Using both a grid and a VSD interface with single word hotspots by neurologically healthy adults, across ages and with different technology experiences, this study examines the utility of these interfaces prior to investigating their use with people with aphasia in future studies. Participants include 18 young adults, 24 older adults with technology experience, and 20 older adults with limited technology experience. The older adult groups were matched for mean age and for sex. Participants described pictures with each interface, and performance was measured based on four dependent variables: (a) the total number of correct information units (CIUs), (b) the percentage of CIUs, (c) CIUs per minute, and (d) preferred interface. There was a significant difference between older adults and the young adult group for the total number of CIUs (p < 0.001) and CIUs per minute (p < 0.001). Despite the changes in technology experience between the two older groups, there was no significant difference in performance. Additionally, there was no significant difference in performance across the two interfaces in any of the groups. Findings suggest age does impact performance on AAC. However, the difference in technology experience in older adult groups did not affect performance. Furthermore, both interfaces used in the current study were equally beneficial when describing pictures by healthy adults. Augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) systems involve various interface designs. Consequently, the comparative utility of these interfaces must be examined across populations and communicative functions. Advancement in technology has given rise to numerous high-tech AAC interface designs. However, older adults with acquired language difficulties whose technology experience is limited may become reluctant to use high-tech AAC. Hence, the influence of technology experience on high-tech AAC performance should be investigated. Prior to examining interfaces with individuals with acquired language difficulties, the current study examined the use of a) grid display and b) visual scene display (VSD) with single word hotspots, by healthy adults of different ages and technology experiences. The study revealed that older adults with limited technology experience were equally competent in using high-tech AAC interfaces, as those with technology experience. Hence, an individual's technology experience should not be considered a deterrent to using high-tech AAC interfaces. Additionally, the study found no differences in performance between the two interfaces, making it essential to consider user's personal preference when adopting AAC interface designs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Few studies have investigated conversation therapy between a person with aphasia and a clinician. Furthermore, little information exists on generalisation of impairment-based stimulation treatment to conversational outcomes. Aim: The purpose of this preliminary study was to compare the effects of stimulation therapy and conversation therapy on conversational outcome measures in two cases. Method: We employed a single-subject AB1AB2A design with randomised ordering of interventions across two participants. Primary outcomes included 6-minute conversations coded for discourse functions of an utterance. Outcomes & Results: The participant who received stimulation therapy first demonstrated improved conversational outcomes after the first phase. The participant who received conversation therapy first demonstrated improved conversational outcomes after the first phase. Although improvements were made in each type of therapy, the highest gains in conversational production were during or following conversation therapy in either treatment order for both participants. Conclusion: Both types of therapy produced gains in conversational abilities. However, the small number of participants limits the generalisability of this study. Future research is needed to determine which participants may benefit most from conversation therapy and to improve the clinical feasibility of conducting and measuring conversational therapy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Primary objective: To determine whether the psychometrics of the BRIEF-A are adequate for individuals diagnosed with TBI. Research design: A prospective observational study in which the BRIEF-A was collected as part of a larger study. Methods and procedures: Informant ratings of the 75-item BRIEF-A on 89 individuals diagnosed with TBI were examined to determine items level psychometrics for each of the two BRIEF-A indexes: Behaviour Rating Index (BRI) and Metacognitive Index (MI). Patients were either outpatients or at least 1 year post-injury. Main outcomes and results: Each index measured a latent trait, separating individuals into five-to-six ability levels and demonstrated good reliability (0.94 and 0.96). Four items were identified that did not meet the infit criteria. Conclusions: The results provide support for the use of the BRIEF-A as a supplemental assessment of executive function in TBI populations. However, further validation is needed with other measures of executive function. Recommendations include use of the index scores over the Global Executive Composite score and use of the difficulty hierarchy for setting therapy goals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Primary objective: To conceptualize functional cognitive constructs across the continuum of traumatic brain injury (TBI) recovery, to form the foundation for the Computer Adaptive Measure of Functional Cognition for TBI (CAMFC-TBI). Background: TBI often has a profound impact on a survivor's ability to return to previous level of functioning and significantly reduces the overall quality of life for survivors and caregivers. Few assessments are designed to evaluate TBI's impact on cognitive functioning in everyday life. Neuropsychological tests are time consuming and may have questionable ecological validity for predicting functional outcomes. Global functional assessments contain few cognitive items and may lack psychometric rigour. Presently there is a lack of efficient, precise, ecologically valid functional cognitive measures. Main outcome and results: Studies that used neuropsychological and global functional assessments were reviewed to direct conceptualization of functional cognitive constructs across TBI recovery stages. An advisory panel reviewed study methodology and functional cognitive constructs development. They validated the need for the CAMFC-TBI and the six functional cognitive constructs: attention, memory, processing speed, executive functioning, social communication and emotional management. Conclusion: Conceptualizing functional cognitive constructs is the first step in CAMFC-TBI development. Future project stages include item pool development, qualitative testing, field-testing, psychometric analysis and computerized adaptive test programming. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this case study was to examine the integrity of cognitive skills, language usage, and language structure components in a patient with corticobasal degeneration (CBD). CBD is a levadopa-nonresponsive, degenerative neurologic movement disorder that is generally accompanied by cognitive (frontal executive dysfunction, dementia) and linguistic (aphasia) disorders. However, no one has reported on social language usage deficits in cases of CBD. The reported frontal executive dysfunction found in CBD led us to expect social language usage deficits in the present case study. Consistent with the literature, the patient demonstrated motor, cognitive (severe apraxia, frontal executive deficits, dementia), and linguistic deficits (aphasia). However she also demonstrated significantly abnormal social language usage previously unreported in the literature. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]