An explorative study of the oral language production difficulties in Arabic speaking aphasia patients in the Netherlands.

When diagnosing and treating aphasia in Arabic speaking patients, the means
available are extremely limited. Mainly, aphasia is diagnosed based on the
information given by the family members of the patiënt and the observations of
the (Dutch-speaking) speech therapist. When possible, a Dutch test may be
translated into Arabic, or the Bilingual Aphasia Test (El Abidi & Mimoeni,
1987, translated from the English and French versions, Paradis, 1987) may be
used to give an indication of the deficits, if there is an Arabic-speaking
therapist available. Simply translating a language test is, however, not
sufficient for the reliable testing of the language abilities. We know, for a
fact, that the semantic and syntactic structures can differ greatly between
languages. Besides that, the semantic knowledge between cultures may differ. So
what is needed, is a test based on the Arabic language and the linguistic
problems that may arise in Arabic.

There has, however been very little research to the language problems in
Arabic. A few studies of the morfo-syntactic disorders (Mimouni & Jarema,
1997), and the reliability of the shortened and translated Akense Aphasia Test
(AAT, Graetz, De Bleser & Willmes, 1992) (van der Meij, 2010) have been
extecuted, but the number and size of these studies is small. What we can tell
is that the AAT was proven unreliable for the diagnosis of aphasia, due to the
variables mentioned above.

Thus, a logical course of action is to investigate the difficulties occuring in
Arabic aphasia. From there, a reliable test may be produced in the future, to
be used (inter)nationaly. We would like to take this first step by
investigating the spontaneous speech production of Arabic-speaking aphasic
patients, compared to controls of a similair age and country of origin, using
the guidelines of the ASTA; a Dutch guideline for analysing the spontaneous
speech in aphasia (Analyse van Spontane taal bij Afasiepatiënten, Boxum, van
der Scheer & Zwaga, 2010). Because analysing the spontaneous speech uses the
language that is already there (unlike standard tests which may test a
linguistic function that is non-existent in the Arabic language, or might
overlook other functions), the ASTA enables us to analyse the Arabic speech,
even though it's a Dutch test. Besides, using the ASTA, it will be possible to
test for additional linguistic measures, which are used specifically in Arabic.

This study will focus on the comparison of the spontaneous speech of people
with and without aphasia. Herein the scores of the controls will function as an
indication of a norm, which may be used as a foothold for other studies in this
area.

The aim of the study is to answer the following questions:
On which measures do patients with aphasia seem to differ from controls matched
on age and country of origin, in the analysis of the spontaneous speech
according to the guidelines of the ASTA?

Sub questions:
- Using the ASTA in it's current form; is it possible to analyse the
spontaneous speech in Arabic speaking aphasic patients?
- Which measures seem to be suitable for the analysis of language production
deficits in Arabic speaking aphasic patients?
- Which additional (Arabic language specific) measures seem to be needed for
the analysis of language production deficits in Arabic aphasic patients?

The spontaneous speech of two testgroups, a patient and a control group, will
be aquired and analysed after investigation of the (premorbid) language
proficiency in Arabic and other languages. The investigation of the language
proficiency will take place by means of a questionare regarding the languages
spoken (at home), the age of aquisition of the languages, and the language
forms used (verbal versus written), among others. When it is not possible for
the subjects to fill in the questionare independently, help (from family or the
investigator) will be offered.
After filling in the questionaire an interview of about half an hour will
follow. In this interview, the subjects will be stimulated to speak about daily
matters such as hobbies, family, and work, according to the standard
interviewing procedure of the ASTA.

N.A.