A thesis submitted in partial fulfilment of - Queen Margaret University

the new words as those further along in their recovery. This implies that cortical
plasticity may not only occur in the acute stages of stroke but also in the chronic
stages. These findings are consistent with those studies that demonstrate the
restitution of language by those people in the chronic stages of aphasia and
refute the idea that language rehabilitation for those in the chronic stages of
stroke should only incorporate compensation strategies rather than facilitation of
further restitution of language.
6.6.2 Learning and aphasia rehabilitation
The findings from this investigation suggest that the rehabilitation process
should draw on approaches and concepts of learning. The main investigation
employed a number of different strategies from the literature on learning, which
were successfully employed in the training of new vocabulary. This procedure
has direct implications for a theory of rehabilitation and therapeutic approaches.
The preliminary study findings highlighted the different learning styles of the
normal population where participants had individual preferred learning methods,
which did not appear appropriate for other participants’ learning. Qualitative data
indicated that the variation in learning methods used by participants with
aphasia mirrored those used by the normal population. Theories and models
have been developed which guide and inform the assessment process in
defining the exact nature of language impairment. Without a theory to guide
rehabilitation clinicians currently rely on clinical experience and single case
studies to select appropriate therapeutic materials and approaches to facilitate
the restitution of language. While single case studies have indicated that
aphasia therapy is efficacious, clinicians are unable to predict which approaches
or tasks would be most successful at targeting particular aspects of aphasia for
rehabilitation. Additionally, they cannot explain why people with apparently
similar characteristics of language impairment respond differently to
rehabilitation efforts. The differing approaches by main investigation participants
to learning the new vocabulary suggests that individuals approach the learning
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