Syntax Stimulation Revisited

An Analysis of Generalization of Treatment Effects

A multiple-probes variant of the multiple-baseline across-behaviors design was used to study the extent of generalization associated with syntax stimulation (SS) training. To assess whether acquisition of specific structures generalized across tasks, we used a specially designed sentence elicitation probe, Picture Description with Structure Modeling (PDSM; Fink et al., 1994). To assess whether training enhanced morphosyntactic production in connected speech, we used the coding scheme developed by Saffran, Berndt, and Schwartz (1989). Four subjects with chronic nonfluent aphasia were trained to produce active, passive, and embedded sentences using materials and procedures from the Helm Elicited Language Program for Syntax Stimulation (Helm-Estabrooks, 1981). These sentence structures were trained in successive phases with generalization probes administered before and after each phase. Three subjects with aphasia served as controls. Strong within-task generalization was observed and, in contrast to previous studies, generalization to the novel sentence elicitation task (PDSM). SS training did not yield measurable gains in narrative production.

Key Words: aphasia treatment generalization, agrammatism, syntax stimulation, HELPSS