Episodes of Word Retrieval Failures in Aphasia (Case Study‪)‬

Patterns of word retrieval failure, in the form of episodes (number of consecutive errors), were investigated in fluent and nonfluent aphasic adults with word retrieval problems. Specifically, the occurrence of one, two, three, and four-plus consecutive word retrieval errors on the Test of Adolescent/Adult Word Finding (TAWF) were analyzed. The results revealed three distinct patterns of word retrieval failure, identified as fleeting, clustered, and extended. The fluent aphasic adults demonstrated primarily a fleeting pattern of word retrieval failure, whereas most of the nonfluent aphasic adults displayed more extended episodes of word retrieval failure. However, severity of word retrieval deficit, as determined by standard score on the TAWF, did not necessarily predict the retrieval failure pattern that was displayed. The results are discussed relative to verbal output fluency in aphasia and interactive activation models of language production. **********