Examining for Aphasia Essay -- Assessment

Introduction Examining For Aphasia was created in 1954 by John Eisenson in New York (Eisenson, 1954). It was one of the first tests for assessing language impairment (Benson & Ardila, 1996) and provides a guided approach for evaluating language disturbances and other disturbances closely related to language function (Eisenson, 1954). The test was originally developed for use with a group of patients in an army hospital who had aphasia and other related disturbances. Over time, the original inventory was refined and improved until testing has ‘shown the applicability of various parts of the test as well as of the examination as a whole’ (Eisenson, 1954, p. 32) and gave rise to the commercial version. Purpose The purpose of Examining for Aphasia (EFA) is to examine adolescents and adults, particularly those whose language abilities have become impaired after normal language functioning had been established. Its main purpose is to ascertain the type and level of the language dysfunction (Eisenson, 1954). It aims to help the clinician discover what abilities remain, with the end goal of forming the basis of a program of retraining. It is the hope that following the examination, the clinician will have an overall view of the patient's level of strengths and weaknesses within each area of language function. Construction EFA is divided into two main parts – receptive and expressive. The first part includes items to test abilities and to expose disturbances in the patient’s capacity to deal with concrete materials, visual representation, and to recognize items. The second part tests expressive abilities, not verbal and non-verbal. Within both sections, the tests are further divided into ‘sub-symbolic’ and ‘higher symbolic’ levels, w... ...n addition allows clinicians to form a basis from which to plan intervention and set goals. References Benson, D. F., & Ardila, A. (1996). Aphasia : a clinical perspective. New York: Oxford University Press. Browndyke, J. (2002). Aphasia Assessment Retrieved 9 May 2012, from http://www.neuropsychologycentral.com/interface/content/resources/page_material/resources_general_materials_pages/resources_document_pages/aphasia_assessment.pdf Eisenson, J. (1954). Examining for aphasia : a manual for the examination of aphasia and related disturbances. New York: Psychological Corporation. Skenes, L. L., & McCauley, R. J. (1985). Psychometric review of nine aphasia tests. Journal of Communication Disorders, 18(6), 461-474. doi: 10.1016/0021-9924(85)90033-4 Benson, D. F., & Ardila, A. (1996). Aphasia : a clinical perspective. New York: Oxford University Press.