ABSTRACT
While the contribution of cognitive neuropsychology per se is still a much debated area (see Harley, 2004), as is its role in aphasia intervention (see Laine & Martin, 2012, and the ensuing forum in Aphasiology), there is clear consensus that cognitive neuropsychology has significantly progressed our understanding of aphasia and the ways in which we approach clinical practice (e.g. Whitworth, Webster & Howard, 2012). The cognitive neuropsycho-logical architecture, while undeniably still not fully understood, provides us with a testable model for how single words are processed, around which principles and tools have developed to isolate and then monitor these processes over time. This relationship between theory and practice is clearly a reciprocal one. Nickels et al. (2010) state that ‘the key aim of cognitive neuropsychology should be characterized as the use of data from the investigation and treatment of individuals with cognitive disorders to develop, evaluate, and extend theories of normal cognition’ (p.539), with findings from work with people with aphasia directly informing further theoretical developments.
