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A cognitive neuropsychological approach to the assessment and remediation of acquired dysgraphia

The University of Queensland, Brisbane

Helen J. Chenery

The University of Queensland, Brisbane, h.chenery{at}mailbox.uq.edu.au

This study used a cognitive neuropsychological approach to investigate a case of acquired dysgraphia in an adult who had sustained focal brain damage. The interpretation and remediation of her dysgraphia were guided by reference to a detailed model describing the functional architecture of the normal language processing system. The aims of the study were to investigate the usefulness of model-based assessment1) in identifying the precise nature of the underlying mechanisms responsible for the dysgraphia; and2) in designing an efficacious treatment programme that was informed by theories of normal language processing.

Interpretation of detailed pre-therapy testing using tasks derived from current psycholinguistic models suggested that the subject’s dysgraphia arose from deficits with processing low-imageability semantic information as well as from a breakdown at the level of the graphemic assembly buffer. Two treatment phases which targeted the identified deficit areas were implemented using a multiple baseline (across behaviours) methodology. The first treatment consisted of semantic therapy targeting the writing of low-imageability words, and the second treatment involved a segmentation hierarchy for treating the writing of non-words. The results indicated positive and selective treatment effects as well as strong generalization effects to related items and functions. The results are discussed in the light of current psycholinguistic theories of model-based assessment and treatment.

Language Testing, Vol. 16, No. 3, 353-388 (1999)
DOI: 10.1177/026553229901600306


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