Exploring Picture-Description tasks Using Global Coherence Across Aphasia Subtypes

Talia Miller

Co-Presenters: Alanna Bosco

College: College of Health Professions and Human Services

Major: MA.SPEECH-LNGPATH

Faculty Research Mentor: Christa Akers  

Abstract:

Aphasia is an acquired disorder that affects language use and comprehension and is typically caused by a stroke. There are different aphasia subtypes that vary in associated deficits. When assessing people with aphasia (PWA), speech-0language pathologists often analyze the ability to describe pictures. The language that is produced can be assessed for global coherence which rates a PWA’s message on a scale from 1-4 on how well it relates to the overall topic. For example, if shown a picture of a boy kicking a ball through a window saying “The boy kicked the soccer ball” would be considered good global coherence, whereas a response such as “It’s a rainy day” would be considered poor global coherence since it’s not related to the topic. It may be that global coherence for picture description tasks may vary by aphasia subtype. For this study, we will analyze global coherence in two subtypes of aphasia during picture description tasks. Analysis is currently underway and will be completed in time for poster presentation.