Theses and Dissertations
Relationship Between Eye Movements During Reading and Severity of Language Impairment in Persons with Aphasia
Date of Award
5-2022
Document Type
Thesis
Degree Name
M.S.
Department
Speech and Hearing Science
Committee Chair
Kimberly G. Smith, Ph.D.
Abstract
Eye movements reflect cognitive-linguistic processing of neurotypical readers. Numerous reading related eye movement measures are associated with language processing, including saccades, fixations, word skipping, and regressions. Eye movements have also been used to examine language processing and reading in disordered populations including persons with aphasia. This study examined whether eye movement measures (i.e., fixation duration, gaze duration, total viewing time, skipping rate, saccade amplitude, regression path duration) obtained from connected text paragraph reading were associated with language severity (WAB-R) and reading comprehension skills (RCBA-2) in persons with various subtypes of aphasia as well as whether those same eye movement measures differed among persons with different subtypes of aphasia and neurotypical controls. Results indicated that regression path duration and word skipping reflected a significant difference between the control group and persons with aphasia. Additionally, there was a significant, strong, positive correlation between first fixation duration and severity of language impairment for persons with Broca’s aphasia, indicating longer fixation duration is associated with less severe language impairment.
Recommended Citation
McWilliams, Sarah C., "Relationship Between Eye Movements During Reading and Severity of Language Impairment in Persons with Aphasia" (2022). Theses and Dissertations . 64.
https://jagworks.southalabama.edu/theses_diss/64