Spaced retrieval treatment of anomia

Background: Spaced Retrieval (SR) is a treatment approach developed to facilitate recall of information by individuals with dementia. Essentially an errorless learning procedure that can be used to facilitate recall of a variety of information, SR gradually increases the interval between correct recall of target items. Aims: Given the success of using SR in dementia, the purpose of this study was to explore its usefulness in improving naming by individuals with aphasia. The rate of acquisition and retention of items was compared between SR and a more traditional treatment technique - cueing hierarchy (CH). Also, each oral naming treatment was run concurrently with a single word writing treatment. Methods & procedures: Three participants who had moderate or severe naming impairments and agraphia were studied. Single-subject design was applied across oral and written naming and treated and untreated items. Outcomes & results: The results indicate that for these participants, SR resulted in improved naming of specific items. The data further suggest that SR compared favourably to CH with regard to both acquisition and retention of items. The participants also benefited nicely from the writing treatment. Conclusions: These findings suggest SR may be an alternative for managing naming impairment resulting from aphasia. Furthermore, the study supports providing treatments aimed at two different modalities concurrently.