Ineke van der Meulen

Personal

Research area

My research focuses on acquired childhood aphasia. As in adults, brain injury in children can result in language deficits.

Contrary to aphasia in adults however, studies on childhood aphasia are scarce and clinicians have no evidence to base their treatment decisions on. The aim of my research is to answer clinically relevant questions, such as diagnosing childhood aphasia, long-term outcome and effectiveness of speech and language therapy.

This is what I am most proud of

We obtained financial support for the project Kinderafasie in Kaart (Registering childhood aphasia) and set up online data collection. In this multicenter project in which more than 20 Dutch health care institutions are participating, we will create a database of children with childhood aphasia.

One of my aims is to create awareness on childhood aphasia within and outside health care. As a first step, I was interviewed by Revalidatie Magazine and this interview raised a lot of interest among clinicians.

Several years ago we developed an aphasia test measuring daily life communication: the Scenario Test. From the start, this test has attracted both national and international interest. In 2020, the German version as well as the English version of our Scenario Test were published.

Milestones for the coming 2 years

Obtain funding (PhD) to develop and publish the child version of the Scenario Test, the Dutch Scenario Test Kids
Analyze the data of children with aphasia treated by the Childhood Aphasia Team of Rijndam Rehabilitation
Participate in the Child Brain Lab of Erasmus MC and analyze the data on language and communication obtained in the Child Brain Lab
Increase awareness: at least one paper or presentation in a journal or platform outside the field of rehabilitation