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. 2020 Sep 10;29(4):1833–1849. doi: 10.1044/2020_AJSLP-20-00007

Table 1.

Domains of speech and language, example tasks, and expected observations in a comprehensive evaluation of primary progressive aphasia (PPA).

Domain Example tasks Expected observations in svPPA Expected observations in nfvPPA Expected observations in lvPPA
Connected speech Answer open-ended questions; verbal picture description Use of simple or vague language; semantic paraphasias, circumlocution Slow rate of speech; speech sound errors; simple or agrammatic sentences Frequent word-finding difficulty; circumlocution; phonemic paraphasias
Motor speech Diadochokinesis (DDK) No motoric deficit Consonant and/or vowel distortions on DDK Phonological sequencing errors on sequential motor rates
Repetition Repeat words/sentences Relatively preserved Difficulty with polysyllabic words and long sentences Difficulty with polysyllabic words and long sentences
Auditory comprehension Spoken word-to-picture matching; follow commands Difficulty on words or commands involving low frequency nouns or verbs Relatively intact auditory comprehension; difficulty following commands with complex grammar Word comprehension relatively intact; difficulty following longer commands
Reading Regular/irregular word and pseudoword reading; passage reading Difficulty with irregular words Slow rate; speech sound errors; agrammatic text reading Difficulty with pseudowords
Writing Regular/irregular word and pseudoword spelling; written picture description Difficulty with irregular words Spelling words relatively intact; simple or agrammatic sentences Difficulty with pseudowords
Naming Generative naming; confrontation naming Impaired; semantic paraphasias Relatively preserved Impaired; phonemic paraphasias and/or circumlocution
Semantics Match semantically related words and/or pictures Low accuracy on low frequency words and less common objects Relatively preserved Relatively preserved
Phonology Phoneme deletion; phoneme blending Relatively preserved Impaired in some patients Impaired
Syntax Building sentences with word cards; sentence-to-picture matching Relatively preserved, but difficulty if sentences involve low frequency words Impaired on complex sentences Impaired on long sentences

Note. svPPA = semantic variant primary progressive aphasia; nfvPPA = nonfluent/agrammatic variant primary progressive aphasia; lvPPA = logopenic variant primary progressive aphasia.