The Role of Syntactic Complexity in Treatment of Sentence Deficits in Agrammatic Aphasia: The Complexity Account of Treatment Efficacy (CATE)

• Published in: Journal of speech, language, and hearing research Vol. 46; no. 3; pp. 591 - 607
• Main Authors: Thompson, Cynthia K, Shapiro, Lewis P, Kiran, Swathi, Sobecks, Jana
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Rockville, MD ASHA 01.06.2003; American Speech Language Hearing Association; American Speech-Language-Hearing Association
• Subjects: Adult Education; Adults; Agrammatism; Aphasia; Aphasia, Broca - complications; Aphasia, Broca - therapy; Biological and medical sciences; Care and treatment; Cleft Constructions; Complexity; Computer Simulation; Efficacy; English (Second Language); English Instruction; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; Generalization; Generalization (Psychology); Generalizations; Humans; Instructional Effectiveness; Language; Language Disorders - etiology; Language Disorders - therapy; Language Impairments; Language Tests; Language Therapy; Learning disabilities; Linguistics; Medical sciences; Movement; Otorhinolaryngology. Stomatology; Outcomes of Treatment; Reproducibility of Results; Research Design; Second Languages; Semantics; Semiotics; Sentence structure; Sentences; Speech disorders; Speech Production; Speech Therapy; Syntactic Structures; Syntax; Teaching Methods; Treatment; Treatment Outcome; Vertebrates: nervous system and sense organs; Wh Phrases; Nervous system diseases; Agrammatism; ENT; Generalization; Language disorder; Cerebral disorder; Communication disorder; Neurology; Treatment; Language; Efficiency; sentence production; Central nervous system disease; Aphasia; Neurological disorder; Syntax; Sentence
• ISSN: 1092-4388; 1558-9102
• DOI: 10.1044/1092-4388(2003/047)

This experiment examined the hypothesis that training production of syntactically complex sentences results in generalization to less complex sentences that have processes in common with treated structures. Using a single subject experimental design, 4 individuals with agrammatic aphasia were trained to comprehend and produce filler-gap sentences with wh -movement, including, from least to most complex, object-extracted who-questions, object clefts, and sentences with objectrelative clausal embedding. Two participants received treatment first on the least complex structure ( who -questions), and 2 received treatment first on the most complex form (object-relative constructions), while untrained sentences and narrative language samples were tested for generalization. When generalization did not occur across structures, each was successively entered into treatment. Results showed no generalization across sentence types when who-questions were trained; however, as predicted, object-relative training resulted in robust generalization to both object clefts and who -questions. These findings support those derived from previous work, indicating not only that generalization occurs across structures that are linguistically related, but also that generalization is enhanced when the direction of treatment is from more complex to less complex constructions. This latter finding supports the authors' newly coined "complexity account of treatment efficacy" (CATE).