SPTH3901 Professional Studies and Communication Sciences 3A (Acquired Language Disorders 1)

Clare Coulter

2016

4.5

2 x 2-hour lectures per semester
1 x 1-hour on-line exercises weekly
2 x 2-hour case studies weekly

1 Admission into BSPP-Bachelor of Speech Pathology
1a Admission into HBSPTH-Bachelor of Speech Pathology (Honours)
2 1 of SPTH1103, SPTH2404
Must Satisfy: ((1 or 1a) and 2)

Assignments; Examinations (40%); Tutorial Participation

Using a series of case studies and supported by lectures and workshops this topic introduces students to knowledge of the aetiology, nature, prognosis, mechanisms, course and management of acquired language disorders, especially aphasia. Specifically, the following areas will be addressed:

Comprehensive assessment of aphasia
- Impact of aphasia on an individual's function, participation and quality of life
- The appraisal and diagnosis of the residual communicative abilities
- An analysis of spontaneous language/ conversational language
Differential diagnosis
- Aetiology: presence of aphasia or another acquired language disorder
- Type and severity of aphasia
- Concomitant disorders
Neuropsychological / Psycholinguistic appraisal, diagnosis and intervention
- Naming and word finding
- Auditory comprehension of words
- Reading and writing of words
- Sentence comprehension
- Sentence production
Therapy oriented appraisal and diagnosis of aphasia
- Candidacy for therapy
- Prognostic variables
- Psycho-social status
- Motivation of patient (significant others) for therapy
- Response to specific therapy methods and techniques
- The ability to learn

The aim of this topic is to:

Provide an understanding of brain functioning, specifically in relation to language
Provide an understanding of neuro/psycholinguistic models of language processing
Provide students with the knowledge and principles of aphasiology, which are essential for the assessment, diagnosis, prognosis, and treatment of aphasia
Familiarise students with the procedures of diagnosis and treatment within a psycholinguistic framework
Provide an understanding of the psychological, social, and functional aspects of aphasia.

On completion of the topic, students will be able to:

Describe the broad components and functional anatomy of the language system
Describe the processes underlying language comprehension and production at word, sentence and discourse level
Describe the effects of normal aging on communication
Describe how issues related to bilingualism/second language acquisition may influence communication
Describe the cognitive neuropsychological approach to understanding how language works
List common aetiologies for aphasia
Explain the main linguistic and non-linguistic features of aphasia and their impact on communicative abilities
Compare how the disorder is defined within the various current approaches in aphasiology (e.g. psycholinguistic; stimulation; cognitive neuropsychological; functional / social)
Analyse the implications for assessment of the main approaches in aphasiology
List the procedures used for assessment and diagnosis of aphasia
Explain the pros and cons for using a standard assessment battery in the diagnosis of aphasia
Compare the information about strengths and limitations yielded by commonly used language elicitation tasks
Compare and contrast the main treatment approaches used in aphasia (e.g. psycholinguistic; stimulation; cognitive neuropsychological; functional )

Key dates and timetable

Timetable details for 2016 are no longer published.

This information is from current details held on the Student Information System. Please report any errors or omissions to the relevant College Office.