Browsing by Author "Vehviläinen, Viivi"

Apraxia and aphasia occur frequently together. Producing speech and using other means of communication such as gesturing is challenging for persons with a severe apraxia-aphasia. Prior research concerning the recovery of persons with a severe apraxic-aphasic disorder is limited. The aim of this study was to examine the possible changes in gesturing among persons with severe apraxic-aphasic disorder between one and three years after stroke. The goal was to investigate the changes in recognizability of the gestures produced after a verbal command. Additionally, the possible effects on recognizability of the gestures by showing a picture of an object related to the gestures or a gesture model were investigated. The sample used in this study was part of the Long-term recovery from apraxia-aphasia after a left hemisphere stroke research project and included seven persons with a severe apraxic-aphasic disorder. The gesturing was assessed using The Florida Apraxia Screening Test-Revised (FAST-R) on two study occasions – after one year and after three years of stroke. The results were analyzed both qualitatively and quantitatively. The findings of this study suggest that changes in gesturing among persons with severe apraxic-aphasic disorder are possible between one and three years after stroke. However, there was much variation in the performance between the participants. The performance on gesturing after a verbal command improved in four persons and remained approximately the same in three persons. At group level the changes in gesturing after a verbal command were not statistically significant. Generally, showing a gesture model improved the recognizability of the gestures substantially more compared to showing a picture. Persons with severe apraxic-aphasic disorder can benefit from showing a picture or gesture model in gesture production, but there was considerable variation between the participants.