Copy & Remember Words

Written naming relies on retrieving and sequencing letters, which can be disrupted separately from spoken naming after a stroke or brain injury.

Putting the mixed-up letters back in order gives the hand and eye a way into the correct spelling, without simply being told the answer. Copying it three times helps it stick. Writing it one last time, alone, is what actually tests — and builds — independent spelling.

Good candidates have agraphia (writing difficulty) as a feature of their aphasia, can hold a pen or use a keyboard, and can recognise the picture even if they can't yet spell it.

Less suitable for people with very limited letter knowledge to begin with, or where writing is not a personal goal — spoken naming approaches may be a better fit there.

Anagram and copy-and-recall style treatments for written naming have shown consistent gains in trained words for people with acquired agraphia, with some studies reporting generalisation to untrained items sharing the same rime or letter pattern.

Beeson (1999), Aphasiology · Beeson & Egnor (2006), J. Int. Neuropsychol. Soc. · Rapp & Kane (2002), Neuropsychologia

• 1. Try to write it — look at the picture, give time to try spelling it alone
• 2. Put the letters in order — if step 1 doesn't work, the letters appear mixed up; tap them into the right order
• 3. Copy it three times — copy the correct word to help it stick
• 4. Try again, without looking — write the word once more, all by yourself

If step 1 works straight away, move on to the next picture — no need for steps 2–4.

• Give time at step 1 — don't rush to show the letters; a slow correct attempt still counts as independent
• Say the word aloud together before writing, if speech is also a goal
• Track the level reached — which step got them there is useful information to watch over sessions
• Little and often — a handful of words per session, repeated regularly, tends to beat one long session