APHASIA: ASSESSMENT 2026/2027 | COMPLETE STUDY GUIDE, PRACTICE QUESTIONS & EXAM
REVIEW
Assessment - ANS ✔✔The Rule: Break the rules (don't have to read the directions as they are
written in the manual) Not like IQ tests; make their performance better
People involved: physicians, physiatrist (rehab medicine), nursing, SLP, OT, PT, Psychology,
Recreational Therapy, Social Worker/Case Manager, Discharge Manager
-Tricky because patients change so frequently after a stroke and they are always moving
-"Prognosis is generally good based on residual health status, family involvement, and personal
motivation"
Assessment - ANS ✔✔Goals:
-Diagnose communication impairment
-Differentially diagnose type of impairment (e.g., aphasia, dementia, RHD, dysarthria, apraxia,
swallowing)
-Determine severity level (mild: natural speaker, just not efficient; severe: mute/perseverative
responses)
-Determine prognosis for recovery (1. severity 2. length of time from onset 3. overall health
status 4. age 5. family involvement 6. personal motivation 7. pain/fatigue
-Identify deficits and strengths
-Plan treatment
-Monitor improvements (spontaneous and therapy-related, but we don't care; realistic goals)
Case History - ANS ✔✔(case manager-need a medical referral)
-A full case history of medical and social aspects of the patient is crucial to an accurate diagnosis
-Information from medical chart, patient and family members is essentail prior to beginning
testing
(working/retired, hobbies, groups/social activities, family members/location, friends/locations,
R or L handed)
, Types of Testing - ANS ✔✔-Standardized vs non-standardized (few normed tests-only WAB)
-Formal vs informal
-Screening tests vs full test batteries
Regulations: certain time period (24 hrs) to get first SOAP written including a diagnosis (may say
"preliminary evaluation indicates expressive aphasia")
Testing Considerations - ANS ✔✔(include in report)
General state of health: physical condition
-Alertness
-Fatigue (guaranteed)
-Pain (after effects are painful; hemiparesis: weakkness/pain/achin in leg and arm (more often)
-Emotional/mental health (aware of what happened to them-possible depression-still motivated
to work on speech/lang. tasks)
-Sensory less (writing/gesturing, facial sensory-droop)
-Associated deficits/hemiparesis (no change in hearing-"hearing appears adequate for speech or
managing conversational speech")
-Medication (may affect cognitive alterness)
Communication Skills to Assess - ANS ✔✔-Language
-Cognition
-Speech
-Swallowing
-Hearing
-Communication interaction
Settings of Assessment - ANS ✔✔-Acute care
REVIEW
Assessment - ANS ✔✔The Rule: Break the rules (don't have to read the directions as they are
written in the manual) Not like IQ tests; make their performance better
People involved: physicians, physiatrist (rehab medicine), nursing, SLP, OT, PT, Psychology,
Recreational Therapy, Social Worker/Case Manager, Discharge Manager
-Tricky because patients change so frequently after a stroke and they are always moving
-"Prognosis is generally good based on residual health status, family involvement, and personal
motivation"
Assessment - ANS ✔✔Goals:
-Diagnose communication impairment
-Differentially diagnose type of impairment (e.g., aphasia, dementia, RHD, dysarthria, apraxia,
swallowing)
-Determine severity level (mild: natural speaker, just not efficient; severe: mute/perseverative
responses)
-Determine prognosis for recovery (1. severity 2. length of time from onset 3. overall health
status 4. age 5. family involvement 6. personal motivation 7. pain/fatigue
-Identify deficits and strengths
-Plan treatment
-Monitor improvements (spontaneous and therapy-related, but we don't care; realistic goals)
Case History - ANS ✔✔(case manager-need a medical referral)
-A full case history of medical and social aspects of the patient is crucial to an accurate diagnosis
-Information from medical chart, patient and family members is essentail prior to beginning
testing
(working/retired, hobbies, groups/social activities, family members/location, friends/locations,
R or L handed)
, Types of Testing - ANS ✔✔-Standardized vs non-standardized (few normed tests-only WAB)
-Formal vs informal
-Screening tests vs full test batteries
Regulations: certain time period (24 hrs) to get first SOAP written including a diagnosis (may say
"preliminary evaluation indicates expressive aphasia")
Testing Considerations - ANS ✔✔(include in report)
General state of health: physical condition
-Alertness
-Fatigue (guaranteed)
-Pain (after effects are painful; hemiparesis: weakkness/pain/achin in leg and arm (more often)
-Emotional/mental health (aware of what happened to them-possible depression-still motivated
to work on speech/lang. tasks)
-Sensory less (writing/gesturing, facial sensory-droop)
-Associated deficits/hemiparesis (no change in hearing-"hearing appears adequate for speech or
managing conversational speech")
-Medication (may affect cognitive alterness)
Communication Skills to Assess - ANS ✔✔-Language
-Cognition
-Speech
-Swallowing
-Hearing
-Communication interaction
Settings of Assessment - ANS ✔✔-Acute care
