INSTRUCTIONAL/TECHNICAL SESSION (1 Hour)
Acquired Neurogenic Disorders
Jamie Mayer, PhD, CCC-SLP (she/her/hers)
Associate Professor
Northern Illinois University
NAPERVILLE, Illinois, United States
Generalization is considered the “gold standard” of aphasia therapy, and yet the principles supporting it are historically underspecified, with nominal empirical support in the aphasia literature. Therefore, the goals of this tutorial, generated by the Aphasia Evidence-Based Practice Writing Committee of the Association for Neurological Communication Disorders and Sciences (ANCDS) are to: (1) define types of generalization, (2) review and synthesize current principles that may influence generalization, and (3) provide examples of how generalization principles may be embedded in behavioral treatment of aphasia.
Summary:
Numerous principles hypothesized to facilitate generalization can be found in the extant literature (e.g., Coppens & Patterson, 2018; Stokes & Baer, 1977; Thompson, 1989). The number of principles identified demonstrates the complexity of the concept. Our goal was to use empirical evidence and clinical expertise to synthesize and categorize these principles and provide a framework of strategies that may be used by practicing clinicians to facilitate acquisition and generalization of behaviors. This process resulted in the identification of five major generalization principles: (1) Include instructional strategies that offer cognitive support, (2) use client-led, flexible training, (3) treat more complex items, (4) train the underlying mechanism, and (5) go beyond the single word level. The process of identifying these principles, differentiating them from more foundational principles of target acquisition, and utilizing them within the therapeutic context is discussed and situated within the context of the Rehabilitation Treatment Specification System (RTSS; Fridriksson et al., 2022).