A thesis submitted in partial fulfilment of - Queen Margaret University

procedures and stimuli used during therapy; the prevention of maladaptive
connections and the agreement of terminology (Ferguson, 1999; Boyle, 1999;
Gordon, 1999; Howard, 1999; Linebaugh, 1999). One first step could be to
establish if the rehabilitation of language involves facilitating the access of
previously inaccessible memory traces for example, already held vocabulary.
This relates to Schuell, Jenkins and Jiminez-Pabon’s (1964) proposal that the
aim of therapy is to maximise the efficiency of an impaired language system
rather than teach new materials. Alternatively, it is possible that language
therapy involves a process of new learning where new neuronal connections
and pathways are being formed. This information would indicate the possibility
that rehabilitation could be a facilitator of new learning or merely a means of
accessing previously known and now inaccessible information or memory traces
due to post-stroke damage or both. If it is demonstrated that people with aphasia
can learn new vocabulary then it is likely that the underlying process of therapy
could involve new learning, which in turn involves related cortical reorganisation
(see section 2.5.2). If new learning could be the underlying process of aphasia
rehabilitation it would be beneficial to look at theories of learning and
approaches as a possible means for explaining therapy. Ferguson (1999)
asserts that the significant learning process involved in aphasia therapy needs
to be identified.
If new learning was found to be involved in the rehabilitation process it would
also have implications for the tasks and procedures employed in language
rehabilitation. Consequently, the best methods of learning would need to be
established to ensure that the therapeutic process would guide neurones in
making correct rather than faulty connections thereby facilitating and enabling
recovery of function. To achieve these neuronal connections specific and
accurate therapy must be engaged in repeatedly in order that the brain can relearn
the previously learned/ known pattern of connections that underpin the
particular skill being targeted (Robertson, 1999; Robertson and Murre, 1999).
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