Understanding Written Words

SKILL: Reading

DIFFICULTY: 1/5

LEVELS: 12 based on number of choices and similarities of the foils

BRIEF RATIONALE: This treatment targets reading comprehension at the word level.

In Understanding Written Words, you will see a written word and select the picture that matches. The treatment auto-adjusts in difficulty based on performance.

HINT: A hint button is available in the lower-left corner of the screen to play the audio of the target word. Using the hint will mark the item as incorrect (as it was not answered with the written word only), but may help you identify the picture representation of the word.

FOR THE CLINICIAN:

Matching a written word to a picture is a top-down treatment for alexia that attempts to support word recognition by providing semantic context. The task requires the patient to access a word's semantic representation to match it to a picture, theoretically strengthening the connection between orthographic forms and their meanings.

You can ask the patient to read the word aloud or repeat it given a model during this treatment.

Selected References:

1. Kiran, S. (2006). Pure Alexia: Causes, characteristics, and treatment. Perspectives on Neurophysiology and Neurogenic Speech and Language Disorders, 16(1), 16–21.
2. Starrfelt, R., Ólafsdóttir, R. R., & Arendt, I.-M. (2013). Rehabilitation of pure alexia: A Review. Neuropsychological Rehabilitation, 23(5), 755–779.