The effect of frequency of augmented input on the auditory comprehension of narratives for persons with Wernicke’s aphasia

Abstract

BACKGROUND : Augmented input refers to the support of any form of linguistic or visual strategy to enhance understanding of language. Previous research for persons with aphasia predominantly focused on the various types of augmented input that can be used to support comprehension. AIMS : The purpose of this study was to determine and compare the effect of varying amounts of augmented input on the accuracy of auditory comprehension for persons with Wernicke’s aphasia METHOD AND PROCEDURES : A within-subject design was conducted with nine participants with Wernicke’s aphasia. Based on previous studies performed by the authors, the participants reviewed a relevant high-content image, listened to three narratives in three conditions, namely 0%, 50%, and 100%, augmented input with active partner pointing (AI-PP), and then responded to comprehension items based on the narratives. OUTCOMES AND RESULTS : Of the nine participants, four gave more accurate responses to comprehension items in the 50% AI-PP condition, three gave more accurate responses in the 100% AI-PP condition, and two participants scored the same in either the 50% and 100% or the 0% and 50% conditions. Furthermore, participants did significantly better in the 50% than 0% augmented input condition when answering inferential rather than factual questions. CONCLUSION : The main clinical implication is that supporting narrative auditory comprehension with augmented input, used as pretask and during-task stimulation, seems to improve the auditory comprehension of narratives for some persons with Wernicke’s aphasia. Moreover, providing augmented input for narratives seems to have a significant effect on the auditory comprehension of inferential questions for some persons with Wernicke’s aphasia. Continuous research is necessary to determine what types and frequency of augmented input will enhance auditory comprehension for persons with aphasia, specifically Wernicke’s aphasia.