Definition:
Dysphasia, or aphasia, is a type of speech disorder in which one has impairment in the ability to express speech, writing, signs, or has impairment in abilities in comprehension of spoken word or language. (Dysphasia, 2015)
There are three main types of dysphasia: expressive, receptive, and global. Expressive is the most common while receptive is the second most common leaving global as the third most common type of dysphasia.
Expressive Dysphasia: Expressive dysphasia is broken into two categories: broca's dysphasia and transcortical dysphasia. In both of these categories one is able to comprehend what is being communicated to them however struggle with communicating their own thoughts.
Receptive Dysphasia: Receptive dysphasia, also known as sensory dysphasia, is broken into three categories: wernicke's dysphasia, anomic dysphasia, and conduction dysphasia. Each of these forms effect ones ability to comprehension and understanding of language. One might use nonsense words, nonsensical grammar, or unnecessary phrases. One might also have difficulty to comprehend spoken language and word to object correlation.
Global Dysphasia: Global dysphasia is the most severe form of dysphasia. In global dysphasia all of ones language skills are disruptive, not all symptoms or levels of severity are the same. (dysphasia, n.d.)
Statistics:
Approximately one million Americans currently suffer from various permanent forms of dysphasia.
80,000 new cases occur annually in the U.S. (dysphasia, n.d.)
Causes:
The loss of verbal communication skills is due to damage or digression in the brain's language centers. There can be many different causes to this digression however the most common onset is damage or trauma to the brain. Stroke is the most common cause for brain damage that leads to dysphasia. Of half a million stroke victims annually in the U.S. approximately 100,000 will suffer from dysphasia. Other causes can be infection, direct trauma, transient ischemic attack, brain tumors, and degeneration. (dysphasia, n.d.)
Symptoms:
Difficulty remembering words
Difficulty naming objects or people
Difficulty speaking in complete sentences
Difficulty speaking in any fashion
Difficulty reading or writing
Difficulty expressing thoughts and feelings
Difficulty understanding spoken language
Using incorrect or jumbled words
Using words in the wrong order
(dysphasia, n.d.)
Treatment:
There is not medical or surgical cure for dysphasia. Treatment is solely in speech therapy. There are several different types of therapies used: out-put focused therapy, psycholinguistic therapy, cognitive neurorehabilitation, and a combination of each. About half of patients will have symptoms face completely or after only a few days. The recovery period or success depends on a few factors: age, general health, mental health, and motivation. (dysphasia, n.d.)
Sarah's Story:
Sarah is 19 years old and had a stroke one year prior to this video. She is currently experiencing expressive dysphasia or aphasia.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1aplTvEQ6ew
Ivan's Story:
Ivan had a stroke and and is now experiencing aphasia.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NTHM7-UgDr0
Dysphasia in the schools:
Accommodations:
Ensure that students have the opportunity for a quite environment.
Teacher should communicate slowly, clearly, and repetitively using gestures and pictures.
Teacher should simplify sentence structure and reduce the rate of speech while avoiding for the student.
Encourage student to be as independent as possible. (Aphasia and Dysphagia in the Classroom, n.d.)
Allow students as much time as needed without interruption to express verbally.
Provide word choice boards, vocabulary flashcards, and pictorial representations.
Explicitly teach semantics and syntax concepts.
Present information using multiple modalities. (Helpful List for Teaching Aphasia Reading Strategies to Students, n.d.)
Modifications:
Allow student to use many forms of expression such as writing, drawing, choices, gestures, or yes/no responses. (Aphasia and Dysphagia in the Classroom, n.d.)
Allow students the opportunity to prepare anything that will be shared in class.
Allow alternative option to oral presentations such as visual presentation or recording. (Savard, 2008)
Examples:
In the classroom a teacher could allow a student with aphasia to submit a verbal presentation by using a power point with written explanations for what students would be verbalizing.
During testing student may be able to take alternative test in which they will be able to express language in any what that works best for them. This could be all verbally, in drawings, or in another form.
Simulations:
This website offers three different simulations in which experiences how a person with dysphasia or aphasia may hear different words. The website then asks the user to interpret the words and then answer comprehensive questions.
http://aphasiacorner.com/aphasia-simulations/listening-impairments-simulation-1.html
This is a video that shows how English would sound for a person that has Wernicke's aphasia.
http://languagelog.ldc.upenn.edu/nll/?p=3514
Parent Resources:
Aphasia Hope Foundation: This website offers a place for connections with other parents of children with aphasia or other people with aphasia. It also offers research and treatment suggestions as well as support.
http://www.aphasiahope.org/
National Aphasia Association: This website offers support for caregivers, professionals, and people with aphasia providing connections and support all over the U.S. This includes support groups, aphasia centers and programs, and near by speech language professionals.
http://www.aphasia.org/
Listen to Our Stories: This is a website that publishes words, pictures, and songs by young people with disabilities.
http://www.listentoourstories.com/index.htm
American Stroke Association: This websites offers information about aphasia awareness through "June is National Aphasia Awareness Month". There is campaign resources and information.
http://www.strokeassociation.org/STROKEORG/LifeAfterStroke/RegainingIndependence/CommunicationChallenges/June-is-National-Aphasia-Awareness-Month_UCM_464039_SubHomePage.jsp
Aphasia Help: This website offers strategies for families in ways to help communicate with a family member with aphasia.
http://strokesupport.com/info/aphasia/aphasia_resources.htm
Student Resources:
Love After a Stroke by Megan Nosol
Princess Crumpet and the Baker of Battertown https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kf0FRnH5FJ4
Glowing In The Dark a blog by MacKenzie Root http://www.inthedarkglowing.blogspot.com/
Dysphasia, or aphasia, is a type of speech disorder in which one has impairment in the ability to express speech, writing, signs, or has impairment in abilities in comprehension of spoken word or language. (Dysphasia, 2015)
There are three main types of dysphasia: expressive, receptive, and global. Expressive is the most common while receptive is the second most common leaving global as the third most common type of dysphasia.
Expressive Dysphasia: Expressive dysphasia is broken into two categories: broca's dysphasia and transcortical dysphasia. In both of these categories one is able to comprehend what is being communicated to them however struggle with communicating their own thoughts.
Receptive Dysphasia: Receptive dysphasia, also known as sensory dysphasia, is broken into three categories: wernicke's dysphasia, anomic dysphasia, and conduction dysphasia. Each of these forms effect ones ability to comprehension and understanding of language. One might use nonsense words, nonsensical grammar, or unnecessary phrases. One might also have difficulty to comprehend spoken language and word to object correlation.
Global Dysphasia: Global dysphasia is the most severe form of dysphasia. In global dysphasia all of ones language skills are disruptive, not all symptoms or levels of severity are the same. (dysphasia, n.d.)
Statistics:
Approximately one million Americans currently suffer from various permanent forms of dysphasia.
80,000 new cases occur annually in the U.S. (dysphasia, n.d.)
Causes:
The loss of verbal communication skills is due to damage or digression in the brain's language centers. There can be many different causes to this digression however the most common onset is damage or trauma to the brain. Stroke is the most common cause for brain damage that leads to dysphasia. Of half a million stroke victims annually in the U.S. approximately 100,000 will suffer from dysphasia. Other causes can be infection, direct trauma, transient ischemic attack, brain tumors, and degeneration. (dysphasia, n.d.)
Symptoms:
Difficulty remembering words
Difficulty naming objects or people
Difficulty speaking in complete sentences
Difficulty speaking in any fashion
Difficulty reading or writing
Difficulty expressing thoughts and feelings
Difficulty understanding spoken language
Using incorrect or jumbled words
Using words in the wrong order
(dysphasia, n.d.)
Treatment:
There is not medical or surgical cure for dysphasia. Treatment is solely in speech therapy. There are several different types of therapies used: out-put focused therapy, psycholinguistic therapy, cognitive neurorehabilitation, and a combination of each. About half of patients will have symptoms face completely or after only a few days. The recovery period or success depends on a few factors: age, general health, mental health, and motivation. (dysphasia, n.d.)
Sarah's Story:
Sarah is 19 years old and had a stroke one year prior to this video. She is currently experiencing expressive dysphasia or aphasia.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1aplTvEQ6ew
Ivan's Story:
Ivan had a stroke and and is now experiencing aphasia.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NTHM7-UgDr0
Dysphasia in the schools:
Accommodations:
Ensure that students have the opportunity for a quite environment.
Teacher should communicate slowly, clearly, and repetitively using gestures and pictures.
Teacher should simplify sentence structure and reduce the rate of speech while avoiding for the student.
Encourage student to be as independent as possible. (Aphasia and Dysphagia in the Classroom, n.d.)
Allow students as much time as needed without interruption to express verbally.
Provide word choice boards, vocabulary flashcards, and pictorial representations.
Explicitly teach semantics and syntax concepts.
Present information using multiple modalities. (Helpful List for Teaching Aphasia Reading Strategies to Students, n.d.)
Modifications:
Allow student to use many forms of expression such as writing, drawing, choices, gestures, or yes/no responses. (Aphasia and Dysphagia in the Classroom, n.d.)
Allow students the opportunity to prepare anything that will be shared in class.
Allow alternative option to oral presentations such as visual presentation or recording. (Savard, 2008)
Examples:
In the classroom a teacher could allow a student with aphasia to submit a verbal presentation by using a power point with written explanations for what students would be verbalizing.
During testing student may be able to take alternative test in which they will be able to express language in any what that works best for them. This could be all verbally, in drawings, or in another form.
Simulations:
This website offers three different simulations in which experiences how a person with dysphasia or aphasia may hear different words. The website then asks the user to interpret the words and then answer comprehensive questions.
http://aphasiacorner.com/aphasia-simulations/listening-impairments-simulation-1.html
This is a video that shows how English would sound for a person that has Wernicke's aphasia.
http://languagelog.ldc.upenn.edu/nll/?p=3514
Parent Resources:
Aphasia Hope Foundation: This website offers a place for connections with other parents of children with aphasia or other people with aphasia. It also offers research and treatment suggestions as well as support.
http://www.aphasiahope.org/
National Aphasia Association: This website offers support for caregivers, professionals, and people with aphasia providing connections and support all over the U.S. This includes support groups, aphasia centers and programs, and near by speech language professionals.
http://www.aphasia.org/
Listen to Our Stories: This is a website that publishes words, pictures, and songs by young people with disabilities.
http://www.listentoourstories.com/index.htm
American Stroke Association: This websites offers information about aphasia awareness through "June is National Aphasia Awareness Month". There is campaign resources and information.
http://www.strokeassociation.org/STROKEORG/LifeAfterStroke/RegainingIndependence/CommunicationChallenges/June-is-National-Aphasia-Awareness-Month_UCM_464039_SubHomePage.jsp
Aphasia Help: This website offers strategies for families in ways to help communicate with a family member with aphasia.
http://strokesupport.com/info/aphasia/aphasia_resources.htm
Student Resources:
Love After a Stroke by Megan Nosol
Princess Crumpet and the Baker of Battertown https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kf0FRnH5FJ4
Glowing In The Dark a blog by MacKenzie Root http://www.inthedarkglowing.blogspot.com/
Compiled by Elizabeth Ventry