Episode #54 - Pawsitively Engaging: From SFA to Animal Assisted Therapy with Individuals with Aphasia: A Conversation with Sharon Antonucci

Ellen Bernstein-Ellis, Director of the Aphasia Treatment Program (ATP) at Cal State East Bay in the Department of Speech, Language and Hearing Sciences and a member of the Aphasia Access Podcast Working Group, speaks with 2019 Tavistock Scholar Dr. Sharon Antonucci from Moss Rehabilitation Center about her work involving semantic feature analysis within a group context, and a pet project, pun intended, involving her pilot research with animal assisted therapy and its connection to the Life Participation Approach to Aphasia, the LPAA model.

Dr. Sharon Antonucci is the Director of the Moss Rehabilitation Aphasia Center in Philadelphia, PA. She is a clinical researcher who has been working with those with aphasia and their families since 2001. Her work in aphasia rehabilitation integrates principles of cognitive neuropsychology, with those of the Life Participation Approach to Aphasia. She directs research in the assessment and treatment of lexical retrieval impairment in aphasia, outcome measurement for group aphasia treatment, and animal assisted treatment for people with aphasia, or work has been funded by the NIH, ASHA, and the American Speech Language Hearing Foundation. And she was one of four inaugural recipients of the Tavistock Trust for Aphasia Distinguished Scholar Award.

In today's episode you will learn:

• Learn strategies for introducing SFA into a group setting
• Learn the difference between Animal Assisted Therapy (AAT) and Animal Assisted Activity (AAA)
• Learn what factors make an individual with aphasia and his/her dog good candidates for an obedience training partnership
• Learn potential benefits to participating in a program that targets teaching your dog new skills

Download the Full Show Notes