Toward independence with semantic feature analysis: a reduced framework and systematic prompt fading

Background Anomia is a persistent and functionally significant impairment for people with aphasia (PWA). Semantic feature analysis (SFA) is a widely used treatment for word retrieval; however, the traditional six-feature framework may place substantial cognitive-linguistic demands on PWA as they learn and apply SFA.Aims This study examined whether a modified SFA protocol with a reduced three-feature framework, explicit framework instruction and systematic fading of supports could promote naming improvement and learning of the SFA strategy.Methods & Procedures Six individuals with chronic aphasia of varying severity participated in an eight-week treatment delivered via telepractice. Weekly probes assessed naming accuracy for trained, semantically related untrained and unrelated untrained items to evaluate treatment effects and generalization. Framework learning was examined through participants’ progression along a systematic prompt-fading hierarchy as external supports were reduced.Outcomes & Results Four participants demonstrated improved naming accuracy for trained items, with one participant showing generalization to semantically related untrained items. All participants progressed to reduced levels of visual support, although the extent and rate of progression through the prompt-fading hierarchy varied across participants.Conclusions Findings suggest that a reduced SFA framework may be sufficient to support naming gains and that PWA with varying levels of impairment can learn components of the framework with explicit instruction and fading of supports. Framework learning did not correspond uniformly with naming response. Knowledge of the framework versus the ability to successfully implement the framework through feature generation represent related but distinct components of SFA treatment.