| 1. |
- Antonsson, Malin, 1986, et al.
(author)
-
Narrative writing in patients with low-grade glioma - using keystroke logging to investigate differences in the writing process before and after tumour resection
- 2017
-
In: Meaningful outcomes Nordic Aphasia Conference. Copenhagen, 15 -17 June 2017.
-
Conference paper (other academic/artistic)abstract
- The aim of this study was to investigate the writing process, using a keystroke logging program, in narratives written by patients with LGG and to compare the patients’ writing processes and products three months after tumour resection with their pre-operative performance. Twenty consecutive patients scheduled for tumour resection at Sahlgrenska University Hospital wrote to a picture-elicited narrative before and at three months follow-up using the keystroke logging program, ScriptLog (Frid, J., Johansson, V., Johansson, R., Wengelin, Å., & Johansson, M., 2014). After surgery there was a significant decline in production rate, i.e. words produced per minute. An analysis of pause distribution in different micro contexts revealed a significant increase of pauses before initiating the typing of a word. The decline in production rate suggests an increase in cognitive effort in narrative writing for patients who have undergone surgical treatment for LGG. The analysis of pause distribution indicates lexical retrieval difficulties. Investigation of the writing process can give information about subtle changes in language and cognitive processing for patients undergoing tumour resection.
|
|
| 2. |
- Antonsson, Malin, 1986, et al.
(author)
-
Writing fluency in patients with low-grade glioma before and after surgery
- 2018
-
In: International Journal of Language and Communication Disorders. - : Wiley. - 1368-2822 .- 1460-6984. ; 53:3, s. 592-604
-
Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- © 2018 Royal College of Speech and Language Therapists. Background: Low-grade glioma (LGG) is a type of brain tumour often situated in or near areas involved in language, sensory or motor functions. Depending on localization and tumour characteristics, language or cognitive impairments due to tumour growth and/or surgical resection are obvious risks. One task that may be at risk is writing, both because it requires intact language and memory function and because it is a very complex and cognitively demanding task. The most commonly reported language deficit in LGG patients is oral lexical-retrieval difficulties, and poor lexical retrieval would be expected to affect writing fluency. Aims: To explore whether writing fluency is affected in LGG patients before and after surgery and whether it is related to performance on tasks of oral lexical retrieval. Methods & Procedures: Twenty consecutive patients with presumed LGG wrote a narrative and performed a copy task before undergoing surgery and at 3-month follow-up using keystroke-logging software. The same tasks were performed by a reference group (N = 31). The patients were also tested using the Boston Naming Test (BNT) and word-fluency tests before and after surgery. Writing fluency was compared between the patients and the reference group, and between the patients before and after surgery. Relationships between performance on tests of oral lexical retrieval and writing fluency were investigated both before and after surgery. Outcome & Results: Different aspects of writing fluency were affected in the LGG patients both before and after surgery. However, when controlling for the effect of typing speed, the LGG group differed significantly from the reference group only in the proportion of pauses within words. After surgery, a significant decline was seen in production rate and typing speed in the narrative task, and a significant increase was seen in pauses before words. Strong positive relationships were found between oral lexical retrieval and writing fluency both before and after surgery. Conclusions & Implications: Although aspects of writing fluency were affected both before and after surgery, the results indicate that typing speed is an important factor behind the pre-surgery differences. However, the decline in overall productivity and the increase in pauses before words after surgery could be related to a lexical deficit. This is supported by the finding that oral lexical-retrieval scores were strongly correlated with writing fluency. However, further exploration is needed to identify the language and cognitive abilities affecting writing processes in LGG patients.
|
|
| 3. |
- Behrns, Ingrid, 1961, et al.
(author)
-
A comparison between written and spoken narratives in aphasia
- 2009
-
In: Clinical Linguistics & Phonetics. - London : Taylor & Francis. - 0269-9206 .- 1464-5076. ; 23:7, s. 507-528
-
Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- The aim of the present study was to explore how a personal narrative told by a group of eight persons with aphasia differed between written and spoken language, and to compare this with findings from 10 participants in a reference group. The stories were analysed through holistic assessments made by 60 participants without experience of aphasia and through measurement of lexical and syntactic variables. The findings showed that the participants with aphasia generally received lower ratings than the reference group, but also that stories written by participants with aphasia were rated as easier to understand, more interesting, and more coherent than the group’s spoken stories. Regression analysis showed that syntax could predict several of the rated variables for the stories told by the participants with aphasia. Results point to the need to include writing training in language rehabilitation in order to increase the ability for persons with aphasia to participate in communicative situations in everyday life.
|
|
| 4. |
- Behrns, Ingrid, 1961, et al.
(author)
-
A comparison of Written and Spoken Narratives in Aphasia.
- 2011
-
In: the 12th International Conference of the EARLI Special Interest Group on Writing, 8th to 10th of September 2010, Heidelberg, Germany.
-
Conference paper (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Background: Early research in aphasiology seemed to view writing as written speech, implying that the symptoms would be the same in written and spoken output. However, different patterns for how difficulties are manifested in written versus spoken language have since been observed. The impressions from untrained readers add an important perspective to clinicians in how patients are able to participate in everyday life outside the clinical setting. Aim: The aim of the present study was to explore how a personal narrative told by a group of persons with aphasia differed between written and spoken language, and to compare this with findings from narratives told by participants in a reference group. Method: Eight participants with aphasia and ten participants with no neurological disorder were asked to take part in the project. The participants produced a free narration entitled ‘I have never been so afraid’, first in a written version and then also in a spoken version. The stories were analysed through holistic assessments made by 60 participants without earlier experience of aphasia and through measurement of lexical and syntactic variables. Results: The untrained readers and listeners rated the stories told by the referencegroup higher than the stories told by the participants with aphasia. The written stories made by the persons with aphasia were however rated as easier to understand, more interesting and more coherent than their spoken versions. Regression analysis revealed that the length of the stories (number of words) and word-level errors were to some extent predicting factors of the ratings, but interestingly enough not necessarily in the sense that longer and more correctly spelled stories were always rated higher. Discussion: The results showed that the impression of a written text is probably due to a very complicated network of variables. For persons suffering from aphasia it is important that they are offered language rehabilitation that includes written language. However, results also indicates that the goals for writing training have to be set individually and that more factors except spelling has to be considered when planning therapy.
|
|
| 5. |
- Behrns, Ingrid, 1961, et al.
(author)
-
Aphasia and Computerised Writing Aid Supported Treatment
- 2009
-
In: Aphasiology. - London : Psychology Press. - 0268-7038 .- 1464-5041. ; 23:10, s. 1276-1294
-
Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Background:Individuals with aphasia often experience difficulties in writing. Word processors with a spell checker and a grammar checker can compensate for some of the writing difficulties associated with aphasia.Aims:To determine if writing difficulties associated with aphasia may be reduced by the use of a computerised writing aid when training patients.Methods & Procedures:The writing aids used in this study were originally designed specifically for persons with developmental reading and writing difficulties and are based on statistics of frequent misspellings and phonotactic rules. Three participants with aphasia selected one of two offered writing aids. Written production during treatment and evaluation was recorded and analysed by keystroke logging. The study had a single-subject ABA design replicated across three participants. The baseline (A) was established by measuring four dependent variables. During a 9-week intervention phase (B) the dependent variables were measured once a week. A follow-up (A) was done 10 months after the training was finished. The dependent variables were: total number of words in a writing task; proportion of correctly written words; words per minute; proportion of successful edits. The results were analysed both visually and by statistical calculations. Outcomes & Results:All participants experienced a positive improvement in their writing ability. Results showed individual differences; after completed training the first participant made more successful edits, the second wrote more words, had a larger proportion of correctly written words, and made more successful edits. The third participant's results did not show any improvement that could be statistically supported.Conclusions:This study showed that the computerised training facilitated the generating process and made the revision process more efficient for the participants. The results are important in that they indicate possible ways of designing writing treatment. However, they also show the need for careful analyses when evaluating different treatment strategies and in discussing what improved writing ability may be.
|
|
| 6. |
- Johansson, Charlotte, 1983, et al.
(author)
-
Writing personal narratives with aphasia
- 2015
-
In: Stem-, Spraak- en Taalpathologie. 16th International Science of Aphasia Conference. Sept. 17-22 2015, Aveiro, Portugal.. - 0924-7025. ; 20:1, s. 67-69
-
Conference paper (other academic/artistic)abstract
- Aphasia is an acquired language disorder most often caused by stroke. It can entail difficulties finding words, formulating sentences and understanding spoken language. In most individuals with aphasia, the ability to read and write is affected. Given the increasing importance of reading and writing in modern society, both professionally and socially, this significantly reduces their quality of life and their participation in daily life. Most research into aphasia and writing has examined writing and spelling at word level only. To obtain a full picture of someone’s writing ability, not only the final text but also the process leading up to it must be studied. Keystroke-logging software allows text production to be studied as it unfolds in real time. This makes it possible to analyse writing behaviour based on, for example, patterns of pauses and revisions. The present study is part of a larger study to investigate aphasia and the writing process with a focus on syntax in written narratives. Methods Participants The participants were 18 adults (fourteen men and four women aged 53–92) with post-stroke aphasia, recruited through speech and language pathologists and local aphasia associations. Besides the presence of post-stroke aphasia, the criteria for inclusion were for the participants to be adults with Swedish as their first language. The exclusion criterion was a history of developmental reading and writing impairment or any other neurological disabilities that could affect participation in the study. There was also a reference group whose participants did not suffer from stroke or aphasia but were otherwise selected using the same inclusion and exclusion criteria as the participants in the aphasia group. The participants wrote their personal narratives on computers. Data were collected using the ScriptLog keystroke-logging software. The topic for the narrative was, ‘The last time I made someone happy’, which was written on the screen as memory support. There was no time limit for the writing task. A researcher was present during the writing but did not in any way elicit or influence the writing or typing. The subsequent analyses were based on the following parameters: total time on task; active writing time as a percentage of total time on task; number of pauses within words; number of words in the final text; and number of spelling mistakes. The results were compared with the (preliminary) results of the reference group. Results The analysis of 18 participants’ narratives showed that writing is a far more time-consuming task for the participants with aphasia than for those without. The participants with aphasia produced significantly shorter narratives but spent significantly more time on the task, meaning that their percentage of active writing time was significantly lower than that of the reference group. Further, the number of pauses within words was significantly higher for the participants with aphasia. Frequent pausing within words may indicate that a writer lacks automatised spelling ability. The writers with aphasia made few revisions, or none at all, and they made mainly local revisions (where the cursor is not moved across several words, sentences or paragraphs). The participants in the reference group, by contrast, made more revisions, and these were more likely to be long-distance ones. Finally, the narratives produced by the participants with aphasia contained few spelling mistakes. Discussion The results illustrate the difficulties faced by people with aphasia when writing narratives. To them, this is a time-consuming and effortful task. The narratives written by the participants with aphasia are conspicuously short compared with those of the reference group. The finding that the narratives produced by the people with aphasia generally have good spelling further emphasises the importance of examining the entire writing process rather than just the final text when it comes to people with aphasia. It should be added that a dictation task (which has been used in earlier research) does not seem to reveal the difficulties with functional writing that are apparent in a narrative task. Many of the participants commented themselves that spelling took so much effort that they tended to ‘lose track’ and found it difficult to complete the narrative task.
|
|
| 7. |
|
|
