Listy klinické logopedie

Listy klinické logopedie 2022, 6(2):34-41 | DOI: 10.36833/lkl.2022.0251979

Spatial Neglect in Stroke Patients

Kristýna Hoidekrová^1,2, Tomáš Vilimovský²

¹ Rehabilitační ústav Kladruby, Kladruby 30, 257 62 Kladruby u Vlašimi, Česká republika

² 1. lékařská fakulta Univerzity Karlovy, Kateřinská 1660/32, 121 08 Praha 2, Česká republika.

Spatial neglect (SN) is a heterogeneous syndrome that occurs in individuals after acquired brain injury. It is a disorder of spatial attention, with a negative impact on the individual's functional status and independence psychosocial abilities, with adverse effects on rehabilitation outcomes.
SN can be observed during reading and writing tasks in the Speech and Language Therapist's office. Because of the great variability of SN symptoms, it has been suggested that complex diagnostic methods for SN assessment should be utilised.
The choice of the appropriate diagnostic tools can be key in revealing the type of neglect and subsequently in setting up an optimal therapeutic approach for SN  treatment. However, the most widely used diagnostic tools have been paper-pencil tests, despite their inadequate sensitivity and inability to detect subvariants of SN, especially regarding the functional status of the individual.
In addition, a wide number of SN treatment approaches have been described, yet there has been no clear consensus among professionals regarding the optimal SN treatment method selection. An example of the most frequently employed approaches is optokinetic stimulation. Another example that has gained substantial  popularity in recent years is the prism adaptation treatment, that utilises the effect of lateral shifting of the visual field using prism lenses.

Keywords: spatial neglect, neglect dyslexia, acquired brain injury, prism adaptation treatment, Catherine Bergego Scale

Received: October 5, 2022; Revised: October 26, 2022; Accepted: November 1, 2022; Published: December 14, 2022  Show citation