Verb Network Strengthening Treatment (VNeST)

Verb Network Strengthening Treatment (VNeST) was developed by Dr. Lisa Edmonds, PhD, CCC-SLP who came up with the idea to focus on verbs to strengthen all of the other words around them (Sutton, 2022). VNeST helps to target a variety of words to help the client independently think of words faster (Sutton, 2022). Edmonds, Mammino & Ojeda conducted a study on the effect of Verb Network Strengthening Treatment in person with aphasia and evidenced that significant improvement was made (Edmonds et al., 2022). They noted that VNeST promotes lexical retrieval abilities and helps basic syntax production (Edmonds et al., 2022). When beginning VNeST the clinician will first need to choose a list of transitive verbs to use (Sutton, 2022). The verbs should also be familiar to the client and specific enough to think of people or things associated with it (Sutton, 2022). It is noted that the verbs should be different from each other to avoid overlap (Sutton, 2022).

Potential Goal: By December 2023, the client will produce simple sentences containing a subject + verb + object (e.g. farmer drive tractor) during a structured activity, in 4 out of 5 opportunies, with 80% accuracy, as measured by SLP data collection. 

Materials Needed: This therapy treatment purposely doesn’t utilize picture cards because it’s designed to have the client think of mental pictures and words (Sutton, 2022). 

• Index cards

• Pen/pencil 

How To: 

After compiling a list of verbs, write each verb on an index card. Also, make index cards that say “who” and “what”. 

Starting with one verb, move through the next six steps then choose a new verb to use.

Step 1: Have the client create three pairs of subjects and three pairs of objects for the verb. Then have the client write each noun on a card and place it in a column either under the “who” or the “what”. The cards will go in a row of subject - verb - object. The clinician can minimally cue the client by prompting and asking questions such as, “who might do this job?”. They can also maximally cue them by giving them choice. 

Step 2: The clinician reads each triad of words aloud while the client follows along. The clinician should take data on how the client is reading such as, independently, in unison, or repeating after the clinician. 

Step 3: Expand on one of the three triads. Ask the client wh-questions including where, why, and when while showing cards with those words on them. Now, have the client read the original triad and add the three answers to it. This creates a longer and more detailed sentence. 

Step 4: Remove all of the cards from the table. The clinician will now read aloud twelve sentences to the client that use the verb. This should be a combination of correct and incorrect sentences. The client will judge each sentence and state if it is correct or not. 

Step 5: Ask the client to recall what verb they’re working on. If they are unable to remember, cue them to think of the three pairs they made. If they are still unable to remember, show them the verb on the card. 

Step 6: Now, repeat the first step but with no cues. The client can either remember the three pairs they had originally made or they can come up with new ones. 

Data Tracking: Data tracking can be done by making note of the client’s responses to the where, why, when questions. Data can also be tracked by keeping all of the cards the client has made and noting when correct responses were made. 

Resources: 

Sutton, M. (2022, July 8). How to: Vnest - verb network strengthening treatment for aphasia. Tactus Therapy. Retrieved December 18, 2022, from https://tactustherapy.com/vnest-verb-network-strengthening-app/ 

Edmonds, L. A., Mammino, K., & Ojeda, J. (2022, September 30). Effect of verb network strengthening treatment (VNeST) in persons with aphasia: Extension and replication of previous findings. ASHA Wire. Retrieved December 18, 2022, from https://pubs.asha.org/doi/abs/10.1044/2014_AJSLP-13-0098