Adult Language Impairments

Question 1

Aphasia

Answer 1

Literally means “without language”
Characterized by impaired comprehension, formulation, and functional use of language
Crosses all language modalities including:
Auditory Comprehension
Reading
Writing
Expression (speaking)

Question 2

Aphasia (cont)

Answer 2

Difficulty understanding words, phrases and sentences
Difficulty recalling words
May substitute erroneous words or use words that don’t make sense (jargon)
Difficulty processing what they hear

Question 3

How does a person become aphasic?

Answer 3

Cerebral Vascular Accident (CVA)
Commonly known as a stroke
Stroke (after heart disease and cancer) is the 3rd leading cause of death in the USA
Approximately 700,000 strokes/year in USA
Approximately 160,000 fatalities per year
Brain trauma
Tumors
Toxic damage (drugs and drug interactions)

Question 4

What is a Cerebral Vascular accident (CVA)?

Answer 4

Abnormality of the brain resulting from a pathogenic process of the blood vessels
Two main Types of Strokes
Ischemic stroke – caused by blocked arteries that interrupt the blood supply to the brain
Cerebral hemorrhage – blood leakes from the artery into the brain; causes bleeding on the brain

Question 5

Stroke Symptoms

Answer 5

American Heart/Stroke Association (FAST)

			Face

			Arms

			Speech

			Time

Question 6

Stroke Risk Factors

Answer 6

High blood pressure
Heart disease
Diabetes
High cholseterol
Long standing cigarette smoking
Dialysis patients (kidney patients)

Question 7

How is a Stroke Confirmed?

Answer 7

Computerized Axial Tomography (CT Scan)
X-ray generator 
Rotates around the head
Pictures taken in segments or slices – like a loaf of bread
Shows shades of grey

Question 8

How is a Stroke Confirmed?

Answer 8

Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI)
Generates pictures similar to a CT Scan
No radioactive material introduced into the body
Head is placed in a strong magnetic field
Spinning atoms of the brain produce magnetic properties which construct a picture of the brain
Very loud – like a washing machine
Clearer images than a CT Scan
But CT Scan is better at predicting hemorrhages

Question 9

Types of Aphasia

Answer 9

Broca’a Aphasia or Non-Fluent Aphasia
Characteristics
Decreased verbal output
Increased effort in speaking
Shortened sentences
Reduction of filler words with retention of nouns, verbs and adjectives
Comprehension is better than expression
Difficulty repeating
Usually has weakness on the right side of the body

Question 10

Wernicke’s Aphasia

Answer 10

Wernicke’s Aphasia or Fluent Aphasia
Characteristics
Poor comprehension
Speech is fluent – flows and may be excessive
Phrase length normal
Syntax for the most part is acceptable
Jargon words
Nouns, verbs are usually absent