If the word is at the tip-of-your-tongue, but just won’t come out, the Stimulation of Semantic Features Activity (SSFA) used in aphasiatoolbox® online therapy is for you. The experts at aphasiatoolbox.com have created the SSFA to help people with aphasia improve their ability to activate and generate words in sentences and conversation. It can help people even with severe aphasia. The term word recall is often used to describe this process, however, this term is just too simplistic. As neuroscientist Stephanie Ries at San Diego State University explains, “…wide, overlapping swaths of the brain work in parallel to retrieve the correct word from memory.” Moreover, additional mental processes allow us to actually speak or type the word. SFFA assists by activating a wide network of semantically related clusters in the brain and then spreading that activation into a word form that contains the speech sounds and syllable representations.
This means that your recovery depends upon translating the best of aphasia research into a workable, aggressive treatment and recovery program tailored to you as an individual; an oversimplified program is not enough to get the job done. The American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA) recently published a review of how many professionals have attempted in various ways to utilize Semantic Feature Analysis (SFA) in research. By studying and then incorporating the leading research-based programs such as SFA; Phonological Components Analysis (PCA); and Verb Network Straightening (VNeST), the aphasiatoolbox® staff was able to construct therapy-friendly approaches that truly exploit neuroplasticity in order to maximize aphasia recovery. Both the clients and the practice coaches can easily use these tools and materials in their everyday practice. For a free consultation on how SSFA can assist your recovery, contact [email protected] or 724.831.8353.