Western Aphasia

The Western Aphasia Battery - Revised (WAB-R) is a valuable assessment tool that is commonly used by speech-language pathologists working with adult clients who have aphasia.

The assessment, which is the most commonly used comprehensive aphasia test, assesses the language skills of adults who experience acquired neurological disorders as a result of events such as stroke, traumatic brain injury, and dementia.

The  Western Aphasia Battery assesses both verbal and nonverbal language, including the following communication modalities: reading, writing, listening, speech, and gestures.  Administering the test allows SLPs to identify and classify aphasia, and determine the severity of the disorder. It can also be used to measure outcomes of speech therapy intervention.

In this guide to the Western Aphasia Battery - Revised (WAB-R), we’ll discuss the components of the assessment, instructions for administration, clinical applications of the test, and more helpful information.

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Components of the WAB-R

The  Western Aphasia Battery can be administered to individuals between the ages of 18 to 90 years.

The full battery consists of 8 subtests (32 short tasks), which are outlined here, as listed through Pearson Assessments:

Bedside screening tool record form

• Spontaneous speech: Content
• Spontaneous speech: Fluency
• Auditory Verbal Comprehension: Yes/No Questions
• Sequential Commands
• Repetition
• Object Naming
• Reading
• Writing
• Apraxia (optional)

Part 1

• Spontaneous Speech: Conversational Questions, Picture Description
• Auditory Verbal Comprehension: Yes/No Questions, Auditory Word Recognition, Sequential Commands
• Repetition
• Naming and Word Finding: Object Naming, Word Fluency, Sentence Completion, Responsive Speech

Part 2: Supplemental

• Reading: Comprehension of Sentences, Reading Commands, Written Word-Object Choice Matching, Written Word-Picture Choice Matching, Picture-Written Word Choice Matching, Spoken Word-Written Word Choice Matching, Letter Discrimination, Spelled Word Recognition, Spelling
• Writing: Writing Upon Request, Writing Output, Writing to Dictation, Writing Dictated Words, Alphabet and Numbers, Dictated Letters and Numbers, Copying a Sentence
• Apraxia
• Constructional, Visuospatial, and Calculation: Drawing, Block Design, Calculation, Raven's Coloured Supplemental Writing and Reading:

The  Western Aphasia Battery complete set includes record forms, a Raven’s Coloured Progressive Matrices test booklet, and a set of manipulatives.

The manipulatives include the following items: cup, comb, flower, matches, screwdriver, 4 Koh’s blocks, watch, hammer, telephone, ball, knife, safety pin, toothbrush, eraser, padlock, key, paperclip, rubber band, spoon, tape, and fork. The clinician will also need to have unlined paper and a pencil available for the client to use.

Administration of the Western Aphasia Battery

The full battery takes approximately 30 to 45 minutes to complete. It takes an additional 45 to 60 minutes to complete the reading, writing, praxis, and constructions sections of the test. There is a bedside test that takes approximately 15 minutes to complete.

The WAB-R can be administered by using paper forms or with Q-global digital assets (such as in telepractice).  To administer the test, the clinician should follow the administration guidelines that are provided in the WAB-R test manual.

For example, to administer the Conversational Questions section within Subtest 1. Spontaneous Speech, the clinician will ask the client to verbally respond to 6 personal questions. To administer the Writing on Request section within Subtest 2: Writing, the clinician will ask the client to write down their name and address.

Clinical application of the Western Aphasia Battery

The Western Aphasia Battery - Revised is a valuable tool for SLPs to assess, plan treatment, and monitor progress of clients with aphasia.

The WAB-R is a comprehensive standardized assessment that can be used by therapists to classify the type and severity of aphasia in clients. Identifying the specific type of aphasia (such as Broca’s aphasia, Wernicke’s aphasia, or global aphasia) that a client is experiencing provides critical information that should be used to develop an individualized, appropriate treatment plan.

The assessment results provide a representation of the client’s specific linguistic and nonlinguistic skills, such as auditory comprehension, reading, writing, and speech fluency. This allows the therapist to report on these skills in an evaluation.

SLPs can use the WAB-R to obtain a detailed profile of the client’s language abilities, including their strengths and areas of difficulty. This information can then be used to select appropriate treatment goals, strategies, and interventions to incorporate into speech therapy.

For example, if the client demonstrates difficulties with auditory comprehension, his or her treatment plan may include exercises and strategies to improve these skills at the level they show difficulties at.

The WAB-R can also be utilized for monitoring the progress of individuals receiving speech therapy intervention to improve deficits experienced due to aphasia. Re-administering the WAB-R at regular intervals over time allows speech-language pathologists to assess changes in the client’s language abilities over time.

These periodic re-administrations of the test provide an objective measurement of treatment outcomes in speech therapy.