The use of novel and real-word stimuli in the assessment of english morphology in adults with aphasia

Abstract

Abstract Fifteen aphasic subjects were administered two 10-item production tasks of English morphology based on the novel words like those from the Berko Test and equivalent real words selected from the Grammatic Closure subtest of the Illinois Test of Psycholinguistic Abilities (ITPA). Aphasia severity was estimated with the Porch Index of Communicative Ability (PICA). Analysis of the results revealed that significantly more correct responses were obtained from meaningful words than novel words, and there was a positive and significant correlation between severity of aphasia and an aphasic subject's production of certain bound English morphemes. There was a similar hierarchy of morphological forms produced by aphasic subjects on both test forms. Further, the hierarchy of forms assessed through these novel-word stimuli did not parallel closely the order of acquisition of these same morphological structures found previously in children.