A comparison of intention and pantomime gesture treatments for word retrieval in people with aphasia

Intention and pantomime gesture treatments for noun retrieval secondary to aphasia have not been compared. In a single-participant design, we investigated the effects of training on verbal and gestural productions following both gesture treatments in four individuals with aphasia. P1 improved verbal productions post intention treatment for trained words only. P2 and P3 improved usage of pantomime gestures to communicate in lieu of verbal gains. P4 improved verbal productions post intention and usage of gestures post pantomime treatment. The most effective type of gesture treatment for remediation of noun retrieval depends on the nature of word retrieval deficit