Syntax Stimulation Revisited: An Analysis of Generalization of Treatment Effects

The generalization effects of Syntax Stimulation were re-examined with a new sentence elicitation probe (PDSM) and a Quantitative Production Analysis on story narratives using a single subject experimental design. Four chronic non-fluent aphasic subjects were trained to produce active, passive, and embedded sentences using materials and procedures from the HELPSS protocol. Sentences were trained in successive phases with generalization probes administered before and after each phase. Three aphasic subjects served as controls. Strong within-task generalization was observed and, in contrast to previous studies, generalization to the novel sentence elicitation task for 3/4 treated subjects. Effects on narrative production were weak