The Maytor, the Shorpine and the Traigol

Abstract

In spite of a range of available resources, many questions about whether - and how - aphasia therapy works remain. Helen McGrane and Linda Armstrong share some findings from Helen's research project, which considered one possible cerebral mechanism by which people with aphasia might be able to benefit in therapy - new linguistic learning using optimal learning approaches such as errorless learning. Helen created 20 mythical creatures for the research, so both the word forms and the word meanings were new. All 12 participants learned some new linguistic information, even those with significant language impairment. The detailed response of one client, who had severe aphasia, is described. Helen and Linda argue that the findings justify direct work on language with people with chronic aphasia, and consideration of an individual's learning style when planning th