Review on Learning Disability Interventions for Aphasia in Malaysia

Authors: Celine Deanna Chan Wei Ling Chan, Saeid Motevalli (UCSI University, Malaysia)
Speakers: Celine Deanna Chan Wei Ling Chan, Saeid Motevalli
Strand: Sociolinguistics
Session Type: General Session

Abstract

Introduction:

Aphasia is an acquired language disorder that is due to damage to particular parts of the brain that are mainly for language formulation and comprehension. Individuals with aphasia will eventually experience challenges in communication, language impairment, activity limitation, and participation restriction. On top of that, individuals with aphasia will commonly experience problems with language production as well as comprehension, which influence their capability to communicate and engage in daily living. A few studies have investigated the interventions for aphasia in Malaysia among children with speech and language problems whose language and psychological interventions are necessary. However, these studies did not provide in-depth information concerning to aphasia. Thus, this study aimed to explore interventions for aphasia in Malaysia.

Objective:

The objective of this study is to conduct review research to explore and summarize the use of interventions for aphasia as a learning disability in Malaysia.

Methods:

A literature search was conducted on scientific data bases (e.g., Google Scholar, Scopus, and PubMed) by entering keywords related to the topic. The year of publication for the journal articles used was between the year 2018 to 2023, with an exception for classic literature. The titles and abstracts of the journal articles, as well as the full text was reviewed carefully prior to analyzing and reporting it.

Findings:

The results reported that the Speech and Language Therapy (SLT) is the most common intervention used in Malaysia to provide support for aphasia patients to improve their language skills.

Conclusion:

Results demonstrated that Speech and Language Therapy is the only intervention that was regularly used in Malaysia for aphasia patients to improve their language skills. Nevertheless, very limited past studies demonstrated the intervention and assessment that were used in Malaysia.

Recommendation:

Future researchers are able to utilize these results as a reference to further study on this issue.

Keywords: Aphasia, language, communication, intervention, review research