The WALC 1 Aphasia Rehab workbook is an essential resource for therapists working with individuals experiencing acquired cognitive-language disorders. Developed as part of the Workbook of Activities for Language and Cognition series, this comprehensive guide includes a variety of structured, progressive exercises designed to improve language processing, comprehension, and expression. The workbook provides an easy-to-read format with simple, concise language and activities that gradually increase in complexity, making it ideal for individuals with aphasia or other cognitive impairments. These exercises target key skill areas such as matching and identification, vocabulary building, following commands, answering questions, and functional language, making it a versatile tool for rehabilitation. The WALC 1 Aphasia Rehab workbook offers a focused approach to cognitive-language rehabilitation for individuals aged 16 and up. With proven results and a structured format, it's a reliable resource for anyone looking to improve language abilities after a cognitive impairment.
Activities are organized into five skill areas:
Matching and Identification – Tasks begin simply, with single, more concrete items, and progress to more complex tasks. The tasks are receptive. Clients match shapes, letters of the alphabet, and words. Then, they match written words, phrases, and sentences to pictures.
Following Commands – Clients follow oral and written directions requiring comprehension of body parts, objects, prepositions (e.g., over, out), and adjectives (e.g., heaviest, shortest).
Vocabulary – These activities target deficits in comprehension and expression. Clients choose words and supply words to complete word pairs, familiar phrases, and synonyms. Other tasks include matching words to simple definitions and clues; naming items by word class; and supplying item functions and descriptions.
Answering Questions – The client either listens to, or reads a sentence, and answers simple wh- questions. The questions require one-, two-, and three-word responses. Yes/no questions about object functions progress from simple (e.g., Do boats float?) to more complex and abstract (e.g., Is a road wider than a sidewalk?). Comparison, before/after, and simple reasoning questions round out the activities.
Functional Language – These activities build on the previous units by increasing the complexity and content level. Questions may have more than one right answer or require the expression of opinions. Tasks include cloze phrase and sentence completion, open sentence completion, paragraph comprehension, paragraph fill-in-the-blanks, predicting from a short story, and formulating short stories.
Features:
Five skill areas covered: Matching and identification, following commands, vocabulary, answering questions, and functional language.
Gradual progression: Activities increase in complexity to help clients build skills over time.
Versatile application: Suitable for a wide range of acquired cognitive-language disorders.
Clear format: Easy-to-read language with simple instructions for better comprehension.
Practical tasks: Tasks that help clients progress in receptive and expressive language, focusing on daily communication needs.
To use the WALC 1 Aphasia Rehab workbook, therapists can introduce clients to the activities in the first skill area (Matching and Identification) and work through the tasks in sequential order. As clients progress and demonstrate increased comprehension and language ability, therapists can move on to the more complex tasks in each skill area. Activities can be used in individual or group therapy sessions, and the workbook can be adapted to fit the client's pace and level of need. Regular practice and consistent feedback will maximize outcomes.
