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Lookup NU author(s): Dr Janet Webster, Professor Julie MorrisORCiD
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC BY 4.0).
Background: Advance provision of pictorial contextual information increases reading speed for everyday texts (i.e., short news articles) in typical adult readers and people with aphasia (PWA). However, little is known about whether advance linguistic context (e.g., titles) influences reading in aphasia. In addition, evidence regarding PWA’s perception of whether context aids their reading is inconclusive. Aims: This study aimed to investigate the effect of titles on typical readers’ and PWA’s speed and comprehension for naturalistic everyday texts. It also aimed to examine if there was a correlation between their reading speed and their comprehension and their perceived helpfulness of titles. Methods & Procedures: Participants were 30 adult typical readers and 10 post-stroke PWA with varying reading ability. Participants read three matched sets of short news articles preceded by either a related title, a filler (an unrelated title), or no title and followed by multiple-choice comprehension questions. Outcomes & Results: Mixed-effects regression analyses showed that related titles significantly increased reading speed of both typical readers and PWA, with a larger effect seen in PWA. Advance provision of titles did not affect comprehension accuracy in either group of participants. There was no significant correlation between participants’ perceived title helpfulness and reading speed or comprehension accuracy. Conclusion: Advance linguistic context does not influence comprehension accuracy of everyday texts but increases reading speed in both adults who are typical readers and PWA. The evidence from this study supports the development of strategy-based approaches for PWA that encourage use of advance contextual information to improve reading speed.
Author(s): Nguyen H, Webster J, Nickels L, Morris J
Publication type: Article
Publication status: Published
Journal: Aphasiology
Year: 2025
Pages: epub ahead of print
Online publication date: 18/07/2025
Acceptance date: 11/07/2025
Date deposited: 16/07/2025
ISSN (print): 0268-7038
ISSN (electronic): 1464-5041
Publisher: Routledge
URL: https://doi.org/10.1080/02687038.2025.2534982
DOI: 10.1080/02687038.2025.2534982
ePrints DOI: 10.57711/m0ye-qg30
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