Question
Do students with word retrieval problems always have difficulty with rapid naming tasks and can it be used as part of the assessment of word retrieval?
Answer
My response to this question assumes that by rapid naming you are referring to Rapid Automatized Naming Tests (RAN) which consists of rapid naming of common objects, colors, letters, and numbers.
Rapid Automatized Naming (RAN) (Denckla & Rudel, 1976; Wolf, 1986) was designed to better understand learners with reading difficulties (Wolf & Bowers, 2000). It was not developed to assess word finding. Thus, it is not surprising that RAN tasks fall short as good measures of one's Word-Finding skills. First, comprehensive Word Finding assessment consists of an evaluation of a learner's Word-Finding skills in both single word (convergent naming) and discourse retrieval contexts (divergent naming tasks). Second, meaningful single word assessment consists of an evaluation of naming accuracy, naming speed, and target word comprehension as well as responsiveness to phonemic cueing and ability to repeat erred target words. Further, the lexical factors of target words in a Word-Finding assessment need be those that influence lexical access so as to draw out potential Word-Finding error types, e.g., Form Related Blocked Errors (commonly referred to as Tip of the Tongue Errors) and Form and Segment Related Phonologic Errors (commonly referred to as Twist of the Tongue error) (German 2000).
In contrast to Word-Finding Assessment, RAN assessment focuses only on single word naming, thus providing no information relative to learners' Word-Finding skills in discourse. Further, RAN focuses on naming speed, providing little information as to learners' naming accuracy, responsiveness to phonemic cueing, and ability to imitate target words. Thus, no information is gleamed from the RAN assessment as to the nature of the learner's Word Finding error patterns. Also, by definition, RAN tasks consist of high frequency, mono syllabic target vocabulary. This limits RAN as a tool to assess Word Finding because the lexical factors of RAN target vocabulary are not factors reported to draw out form related error patterns, e.g., multisyllabic words, from sparse neighborhoods, with low frequency neighbors. (German and Newman, 2004). So while the mono syllabic, high frequency RAN vocabulary may induce some semantic word finding errors (red for yellow), the RAN vocabulary will most likely not draw out the more significant phonologically based word finding error patterns that plague learners as they advance in school. That is, learners whose Word-Finding difficulties are Form Related Blocked Errors and Form and Segment Related Phonologic Errors may have no difficulty naming the RAN target vocabulary. In such cases, learners with Word-Finding difficulties could go unidentified. Therefore, my recommendation is that all learners suspect of having Word-Finding difficulties as well as all learners who have difficulty with oral reading be referred for deep assessment in Word Finding (German, 1991, 2000) regardless of how they perform on RAN assessments.
References
Denckla, M. B., & Rudel, R. G. (1976). Rapid automatized naming (RAN): Dyslexic differentiated from other learning disabilities. Neuropsychologia, 14,471-479.
German, D. J. (1991). Test of Word Finding in Discourse (TWFD), Austin, TX: Pro Ed.
German, D. J. (2000). Test of Word Finding, Second Edition (TWF-2). Austin, TX: Pro Ed.
German, D. J., & Newman, R. S. (2004). The impact of lexical factors on children's word finding errors. Journal of Speech, Language, & Hearing Research, 47(3), 624-636.
Wolf, M. (1986). Rapid alternating stimulus naming in the developmental dyslexias. Brain and Language, 27, 360-379.
Wolf, M., & Bowers, P. (2000). Naming-speed deficits in developmental reading disabilities: An introduction to the special series on the double-deficit hypothesis. Journal of Learning Disabilities, 33(4), 322-324.
Diane German is a Professor and Holder of the Ryan Endowed Chair at National-Louis University, Chicago, Illinois. She has published/presented many articles, technical papers, and conducted numerous seminars in Child Word Finding. She has authored the Test of Word Finding, Second Edition; the Test of Adolescent/Adult Word Finding, the Test of Word Finding in Discourse and the new Word Finding Intervention Program, Second Edition. www.wordfinding.com