Lexical Retrieval Treatment for Primary Progressive Aphasia

Similar to aphasia due to stroke, lexical retrieval difficulties are pervasive in primary progressive aphasia (PPA). In fact, increasing word retrieval difficulties typically herald the onset of PPA, regardless of the underlying etiology or PPA subtype. For that reason, behavioral interventions to improve or sustain word retrieval abilities have considerable potential to enhance language performance in PPA. We report here on positive responses to lexical retrieval treatment in two individuals with fluent progressive aphasia profiles. The treatment approach extends work accomplished in stroke-related aphasia that promotes strategic engagement of residual language abilities to promote self-cueing to resolve lexical retrieval difficulties