Can Learning Theory Teach Us about Aphasia Therapy?

Commentary on Alison Ferguson's "Learning in Aphasia Therapy: It's Not So Much What You Do, but How You Do It!" (1999) agrees with Ferguson that theories of impairment & rehabilitation are not to be conflated, as the former is insufficient to specify the latter. Although current therapeutic models fail to account for the relationship between pre- & posttreatment behaviors, it is not clear that this gap can be filled as Ferguson proposes by specifying the learning theory underlying the therapy method: Ferguson's cognitive-behavioral & behavioral categories are not sufficiently distinct, as both involve conscious & unconscious processes; & very different therapeutical methods with no obvious common factors are grouped together in Ferguson's four categories based on learning theories. It is suggested that a theory of aphasia therapy may be premature, given both insufficient knowledge regarding impairments & a widely felt need for such a theory to motivate treatment of specific deficits. 18 References. J. Hitchcock