Reading for Meaning: What Influences Paragraph Understanding in Aphasia?

American Journal of Speech-language Pathology
Janet WebsterMaria Garraffa

Abstract

The current study investigated the effect of text variables including length, readability, propositional content, and type of information on the reading comprehension of people with aphasia. The performance of 75 people with aphasia was compared with 87 healthy, age-matched control participants. Reading comprehension was considered in terms of both accuracy in responding to questions tapping comprehension and reading time. Participants with aphasia (PWA) were divided into 2 groups (no reading impairment [PWA:NRI] and reading impairment [PWA:RI]) depending on whether their performance fell within the 5th percentile of control participants. As groups, both PWA:NRI and PWA:RI differed significantly from control participants in terms of reading time and comprehension accuracy. PWA:NRI and PWA:RI differed from each other in terms of accuracy but not reading time. There was no significant effect of readability or propositional density on comprehension accuracy or reading time for any of the groups. There was a significant effect of length on reading time but not on comprehension accuracy. All groups found main ideas easier than details, stated information easier than inferred, and had particular difficulty with questions that require...Continue Reading

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Citations

Nov 8, 2019·International Journal of Language & Communication Disorders·Ingrid Henriksson, Katja Laakso
Nov 7, 2019·American Journal of Speech-language Pathology·Karen HuxErica Lapp
Sep 13, 2020·International Journal of Language & Communication Disorders·Giorgia CistolaIneke van der Meulen
Dec 6, 2018·Journal of Speech, Language, and Hearing Research : JSLHR·Elizabeth Brookshire MaddenDiane L Kendall
Jun 30, 2019·American Journal of Speech-language Pathology·Kelly Knollman-PorterDarbi R Ruff
Mar 17, 2021·Assistive Technology : the Official Journal of RESNA·Sarah E WallaceRebecca Cain
Dec 24, 2021·American Journal of Speech-language Pathology·Kelly Knollman-PorterAllison Crittenden

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Aphasia affects the ability to process language, including formulation and comprehension of language and speech, as well as the ability to read or write. Here is the latest research on aphasia.

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