WHAT'S UP DOC? Pinning down communication difficulty

Q: My husband has been having difficulty talking to me. It seems as if it is hard for him to get the words out, yet he seems to understand when I speak to him. What can cause this?

A: You seem to be describing what is called expressive aphasia, and that is what I will discuss in today's column. Your doctor can verify this is what is happening, isolate the cause and then help guide your husband to some therapies that may prevent further problems and help improve the symptoms.

We all know that one thing that separates humans from other animals is the extent and complexity in which we are able to use language to communicate; although animals may use language to some extent, the human use of language is much more advanced. Aphasia is any loss (partial or complete) of the ability to understand or express language (oral or written). next....

Robbed of power to communicate

A bookshelf greets visitors as they walk into Lindsay Richardson's living room, a range of paperbacks and hardbacks propped in rows. However, these days the former secondary school teacher struggles to enjoy them. A stroke suddenly robbed her of the power to interpret written language.

She recalls: "It was great to be home from hospital, but the real worries were yet to come. I used to read a lot, my house was full of books and I could not read a word.

"Reading was lost to me and that was so frustrating."

next....

Recovery and treatment of aphasia after stroke: functional imaging studies

Crinion, J.T., et al. - Recent studies of aphasia recovery allow a deeper appreciation of the changing neuronal activation patterns associated with time after stroke. The distinction between neuronal reorganization that does and does not sustain recovery in the chronic phase after stroke, either spontaneous or in response to treatment, remains controversial and further studies are necessary [more...]

Aphasia

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David Shenk Answers Your Questions About Alzheimer's

Shenk: Very important question. "Dementia" and "senile dementia" are generic terms that describe a set of symptoms - memory loss, confusion, aphasia, and so on. Every case of dementia is caused by one or another disease. Alzheimer's is one of those diseases, and is by far the most common cause of dementia. There are other diseases that cause dementia - multi-infarct dementia, fronto-temporal dementia, and others. But the important point here is that it is no longer acceptable for a doctor to leave a diagnosis at "just
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Default Is this good English?

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I am translating a text from Norwegian into English, and wonder if the following sentences are OK:

"The earliest known written observation that apoplexy, lethargy or other serious brain diseases may lead to damage of speech without a synchronous paralysis of the tongue, is found in a letter from the German doctor Atheus to a Swiss colleague, Schenkius, in 1585."

"Even if aphasia is a linguistic phenomena, the study of aphasia has until recently been dealt with largely by neurologists and psychologists, not linguistics."

Enhancing communication

Filed under UF Voices on October 9, 2007.

When asked what I do, sometimes I wish my reply could be that I were an astrophysicist or electrical engineer. I am a speech-language pathologist - a profession that few people understand. Even more confusing is that the department which I chair is called Communication Sciences and Disorders (CSD). So with every response to “What do you do?” I am met with a befuddled look simply because most people are unfamiliar with this discipline.

But, this is OK because as the conversation continues, I can elaborate on my professional story and boast about my department’s accomplishments. For instance, the CSD at UF is ranked 7th in the field of audiology and 17th in the field of speech-language pathology. These two disciplines within CSD are staffed by internationally renowned faculty who are dedicated researchers and clinicians. Their work as professors and instructors in hearing, speech, and language sciences and rehabilitation offers excellent opportunities for students who have interest in the vast array of clinical disorders, including reading disabilities, autism, aphasia, Parkinson’s disease, stuttering and hearing loss.

With millions of dollars in grant money, most recently from the National Institutes of Health and the Michael J. Fox Foundation, we study the intricate processes of speech production and how disease alters the multiple systems involved in communication. We have helped from the likes of small children who can’t read with the help of the Scottish Rite Organization, to well- known personalities, such as Muhammad Ali and the late Christopher Reeve.

Most importantly, CSD works to assist our community by offering exceptional education to our students, clinical services to people in need, and research collaboration with our colleagues, to enhance the quality of life for those with communication disorders. Our goal is to push the limits of science to find more effective ways to help all persons with hearing, speech, and language disorders communicate as effectively as possible.

Christine Sapienza, Chair