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About Aphasia
What is aphasia? The National Aphasia Association defines aphasia as “an acquired communication disorder that impairs a person’s ability to process language, but does not affect intelligence.” Aphasia impairs the expression and understanding of language, as well as reading and writing. One million people in the United States currently have aphasia, and 80,000 individuals will acquire the disorder each year, primarily following stroke.
 
Team

Our Mission

At the Aphasia Laboratory at the University of Washington, we conduct research to better understand the complex processing of language and its breakdown in individuals with aphasia.

In particular, we study:

  1. The theoretical nature of word retrieval deficits in aphasia.
  2. Rehabilitation of aphasia.
  3. The influence of attention and cognitive processing on word retrieval.
  4. The psycholinguistic principles of stimuli used in treatment and/or standardized assessments.    

Director: Diane Kendall
 
Dr. Kendall and patientDr. Kendall’s research program is focused on rehabilitation of aphasia and in particular understanding the theoretical relationship between phonology (e.g. sounds) and aphasia. Her overall career objectives are to conduct systematic, Phase I through V treatment outcomes research. Through an Associate Investigator Award (2000-2002), Career Research Development Award (2002-2005) and Merit Review Grant (2010-2013), Dr. Kendall systematically developed and refined protocols in phonologic treatment for acquired aphasia. Dr. Kendall and her colleagues have developed the Standardized Assessment of Phonology in Aphasia (SAPA).

 The Aphasia Research Laboratory is affiliated with the UW Integrated Brain Imaging Center (IBIC)