Abstract
This paper presents a new measure of syntactic comprehension abilities in brain-damaged populations known as the SOAP (Subject-relative, Object-relative, Active, and Passive), along with data supporting its sensitivity and specificity. This assessment tool examines comprehension of sentences (matched for length) of four syntactic construction types: active, passive, subject-relative, and object-relative. Data are presented that indicate that the SOAP provides a sensitive and reliable differentiation of aphasia subgroups. The SOAP's sensitivity in differentiating broad behavioral (anterior/posterior-lesioned) groups is compared to the auditory comprehension component of the Boston Diagnostic Aphasia Examination (BDAE), supporting its sensitivity differentiating between anterior- and posterior-lesioned groups. It is argued that this tool can be an important accompaniment to standard aphasia assessment batteries in more sensitively defining syntactic comprehension deficits.
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Love, T., Oster, E. On the Categorization of Aphasic Typologies: The SOAP (A Test of Syntactic Complexity). J Psycholinguist Res 31, 503–529 (2002). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1021208903394
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1021208903394