A thesis submitted in partial fulfilment of - Queen Margaret University

demonstrate this learning during immediate recall. This pilot study confirmed
that a post-stroke adult with no aphasia could demonstrate the learning of new
vocabulary. On the other hand, Table 4.9 indicated that someone who has
cognitive impairments, in P2’s case memory problems (see section 4.5.2), might
find it difficult to consolidate and retain this information for future recall. No
methodological issues arose during this pilot study, and the presentation and
assessment stimuli were appropriate. The full methodology was then
administered with an adult who had residual aphasia following a stroke in pilot
study three below.
4.6 PILOT STUDY THREE
This study evaluated the suitability of methodology (as employed in pilot study
two, see section 4.5) for the training and assessment of new vocabulary with an
adult who had language difficulties following a stroke. The timing of the sessions
was also assessed in light of possible delayed responses due to language
difficulties. To reiterate, this pilot study presents data evaluating the suitability of
the methodology for a person with aphasia rather than the participant with
aphasia’s ability to learn the stimuli. Therefore data gathered during pilot study
three relating to P3’s language abilities and his learning performance are not
presented here, but are included in the reporting of the main investigation in
Chapter 5 (see section 5.6).
4.6.1 Participant details
P3 was recruited for participation in this investigation through his speech and
language therapist. He was male (aged 64;04 years) and was seven months
post-stroke at the time of the investigation. Speech and language therapy
records noted that P3 had expressive aphasia resulting from a left fronto-parietal
infarct. At the time of the study, P3 was having a break following a block of
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