A thesis submitted in partial fulfilment of - Queen Margaret University

Additionally, harmful or redundant therapy tools/ methods that could promote
maladaptive neuronal connections could be eliminated. It is also possible that
both processes could be happening simultaneously during the therapeutic
process i.e. formation of new representations and accessing already held
representations. If a theory of rehabilitation incorporated theories of learning
then it would be important to identify any constraining factors impacting upon
this new learning experienced by people with aphasia. It is possible that those
identified constraints on learning could also be the same factors that are thought
to influence language recovery (see section 2.6). Additionally, as people are
thought to learn in different ways it may be that different learning techniques
would facilitate language restitution in different individuals.
However it has not yet been adequately proven that new learning is occurring
during the therapeutic process. Gordon (1999) highlights the problem of various
terminologies within learning theories, however, it must first be established that
new learning is occurring in therapy. In order to address this it must first be
established that people with aphasia can demonstrate new learning despite
language impairment. This investigation intends to address this question.
However, in order to ensure that the investigation measures the ability of
participants with aphasia to learn new language-related information rather than
accessing old memory traces through other methods, their ability to learn new
vocabulary will be assessed (i.e. the acquisition of new knowledge incorporating
novel words). If adults with aphasia are unable to demonstrate the learning of
new vocabulary then it suggests that aphasia therapy facilitates the re-accessing
of previously known information. Therefore, the tools and methods used in
language therapy sessions should reflect this. If however, adults with aphasia
demonstrate that they can learn new vocabulary then the therapy tools and
methods could incorporate novel methods to facilitate this new learning (e.g. can
we teach the old words as new words encouraging new pathways to be laid
down?). As previously discussed (see section 2.5 and subheadings) learning or
50