What is Aphasia?

Aphasia is a language disorder that negatively affects a person's ability to talk, understand the spoken word and also their reading and writing. Originating from the Greek word "aphatos" which means speechless, aphasia is a symptom resultant of pre-existing brain damage, such as Alzheimer's disease or stroke (with over 30% of stroke victims suffering aphasia to some degree).

What are the Signs and Symptoms of Aphasia?

As there are three types of aphasia, the symptoms can differ for each type. Details of these differences are:

Global aphasia - All parts of vocal and written interaction are affected. Both writing and reading is impaired, as well as speech and listening.

Fluent aphasia - Speech is hard/not possible to understand. The ability to speak is not impaired, but the words spoken make no sense. Writing ability is usually effected in the same way, the writing is flowing but what is actually written is nonsense.

The person suffering from fluent aphasia may become annoyed and irritated if someone has trouble understanding them as they don't always realize they have a language disorder. As for understanding, people with fluent aphasia more commonly have problems with speech than writing.

Non-fluent aphasia - With this type, speech is slower and hesitant, the patient also struggles to get their words out. Sentences are rarely completed, and even though some words are missing, what they are saying can be made sense of. Again writing ability is usually the same as speech.

Someone with non-fluent aphasia has more problems with grammar than words alone. People with this kind of aphasia are more aware of their disorder and may get annoyed when they struggle with words.

The visible signs that can be noticed on someone with aphasia are weakness or paralysis on one side of the face or body.

What Causes Aphasia?

The part of the brain that controls speech and language recognition is referred to as the language center. It is normally in the part of the brain opposite to side of the hand you write with (e.g. left side of brain for the right handed). These parts of the brain are known as Broca's area and Wernicke's area. Aphasia is caused when any of these parts of the brain or the neural pathways connecting them are damaged. This can be a result of the following:

• Stroke
•  Traumatic brain injury
•  Epilepsy
•  Migraine
•  Brain tumor
•  Alzheimer's
•  Parkinson's

 How is Aphasia Diagnosed?

As the number of people that have aphasia after suffering a stroke is high, a test for aphasiis usually carried out soon after the stroke.

The test is normally carried out by a language therapist and would include some basic exercises to help them asses the patient's language skills, such as:  

• Naming objects that begin with a certain letter    
•  Reading or writing      
•  Holding a conversation     
• Understanding directions and commands

After aphasia is diagnosed it is usual practice that the patient undergoes a CT (Computerized Tomography) or MRI (Magnetic Resonance Imaging) scan. This will help determine the location and degree of brain damage that has caused the aphasia.

What are the Treatment Options for Aphasia?

The only way to really treat aphasia is with SLT (Speech and Language Therapy). It is not usually viable for someone with aphasia to completely regain the level of communication they had before the disorder, nevertheless SLT can lead to a massive improvement, even with global aphasia.

 The results aimed to be achieved from SLT are:

• Better use of the residual language abilities.
• Improved language skills, by relearning them
• Ability to communicate in a different way, making up for missing words in speech

As there are different levels of aphasia and people don't all learn in the same way, there are a few variations of speech language therapy. These are:

MIT (Melodic Intonation Therapy) - this is mostly used to treat non-fluent aphasia. It involves the use of humming or singing in rhythm (melodic intonation) while repeating phrases and words the patient has been struggling with. This process stimulates brain activity in the right hemisphere. MIT is effective at increasing how many words the patient can remember.

Group therapy - this is where a small group of people with aphasia get together with a therapist and communicate. This gives the patients a chance to practice and improve their language skills by interacting with a group of people in a comfortable and helpful environment.

PACE (Promoting Aphasic's Communicative Effectiveness) - a kind of SLT that improves the patient's communication skills by engaging them in conversation. The patient would be shown a picture or a drawing and asked to respond in any way that they can. The level of conversation will start off simple but through time it will become more involved.

CST (Computerized Script Training) - as suggested in the title, this involves a computer delivered script based on day-to-day conversations. It gives the patient an opportunity to practice their communication skills using realistic situations.

How do you communicate with someone that has Aphasia?

The following are some tips on how to communicate with someone that has aphasia:

• Try to keep sentences short and simple and avoid questions that require a complicated answer.
•  Do not change the subject of conversation too quickly.
•  Minimize distracting background noises.
•  When the person with aphasia is replying, try not to pressure them for a response and give them   plenty of time to answer.
•   Try not to correct their language as they may find this frustrating.
•  Remember that their disorder is affecting the way they communicate, their tone may not necessarily reflect their mood.
• Try to keep a notepad/some paper and a pen to hand, this may help you or them to communicate.

What is Dysgraphia? 

Dysgraphia is Learning Disability that affects writing, which requires a complex set of engine and information processing skills. Dysgraphia makes the act of writing difficult. It can lead to problems with spelling, poor handwriting, and putting thoughts on paper. People with dysgraphia can have trouble organizing letters, numbers, and words on a line or page. This can partly result from:

• Visual-spatial Difficulties: trouble processing what the eye sees.
• Language processing difficulty: trouble processing and making sense of what the ear hears.

What Are the Warning Signs of dysgraphia?

Just having bad handwriting does not mean a person has dysgraphia. Since dysgraphia is a processing disorder, THROUGHOUT difficulties can change a lifetime. However since writing is a developmental process - children learn the motor skills needed to write, while learning the thinking skills needed to Communicate on paper - Difficulties also can overlap.

In Early Writers:

• Tight, awkward pencil grip and body position
• Avoiding writing or drawing tasks
• Trouble forming letter shapes
• Inconsistent spacing between letters or words
• Poor Understanding of uppercase and lowercase letters
• Inability to write or draw in a line or margins within
• Quickly tiring while writing

In Young Students:

• Illegible handwriting
• Mixture of cursive and print writing
• Saying words out loud while writing
• Concentrating so hard on writing that comprehension of what's written is missed
• Trouble thinking of words to write
• Omitting or not finishing words in sentences

In Teenagers and Adults:

• Trouble organizing thoughts on paper
• Trouble keeping track of thoughts already written down
• Difficulty with syntax structure and grammar
• Large gap between ideas and understanding demonstrated written through speech

What Strategies Can Help?

There are many ways to help a person with dysgraphia Achieve Success. Generally fall into three main Strategies categories:

• Accommodations: Providing alternatives to written expression
• Modifications: changing expectations or tasks to minimize or avoid the area of ​​weakness
• Remediation: Providing instruction for improving handwriting and writing skills

Each type of strategy should be considered when planning instruction and support. A person with dysgraphia will benefit from help from both specialists and those who are closest to the person. Finding the most beneficial type of support is a process of trying different ideas, and openly exchanging thoughts on what works best.

Although teachers and employers are required by law to make "reasonable accommodations" for Individuals with learning disabilities, they may not be aware of how to help. Speak to them and explain the dysgraphia About Challenges faced as a result of this learning disability.

Here are examples of how to teach Individuals with dysgraphia to overcome their difficulties with some of written expression.

Early Writers:

Be patient and positive, Encourage practice, and praise effort. Becoming a good writer takes time and practice.

• Use paper with raised lines for a sensory guide to staying within the lines.
• Try different pens and pencils to find one that's most comfortable.
• Practice writing letters and numbers in the air with big arm engine movements to improve memory of these important shapes. Also practice letters and numbers with smaller hand or finger motions.
• Encourage proper grip, posture and paper positioning for writing. It's important to Reinforce this early as it's Difficult for students to unlearn bad habits later on.
• Use multi-sensory techniques for learning letters, shapes and numbers. For example, speaking through engine sequences, Such as "b" is "big stick down, circle away from my body."
• Enter a word processor on a computer early; however do not eliminate handwriting for the child. While typing can make it easier to write by alleviating the frustration of forming letters, handwriting is a vital part of a person's Ability to function in the world.

Young Students:

Encourage practice through low-stress Opportunities for writing. This might include writing letters or in a diary, making household lists, or keeping track of sports teams.

• Allow use of print or cursive - whichever is more comfortable.
• Use large graph paper for math calculation to keep columns and rows organized.
• Allow additional time for writing assignments.
• Begin writing assignments creatively with drawing, or speaking into a tape recorder Ideas
• Alternate focus of writing assignments - put the emphasis on some for neatness and spelling, others for grammar or organization of ideas.
• Explicitly teach different types of writing - expository and personal essays, short stories, poems, etc.
• Do not judge timed assignments on neatness and spelling.
• Have students proofread work after a delay - it's easier to see mistakes after a break.
• Help students create a checklist for editing work - spelling, neatness, grammar, syntax, clear progression of ideas, etc.
• Encourage use of a spell checker - speaking spell checkers are available for handwritten work
• Reduce amount of copying, instead, focus on the original writing answers and thoughts
• Have student complete tasks in small steps instead of all at once.
• Find alternative means of assessing knowledge, such as oral reports or visual projects

Teenagers and Adults:

Many of These tips can be used by all age groups. It is never too early or too late to reinforce the skills needed to be a good writer.

• Provide tape recorders to supplement note taking and to preparing for writing assignments.
• Create a step-by-step plan writing assignments that breaks into small tasks (see below).
• When organizing writing projects, create a list of keywords that will be useful.
• Provide clear, constructive feedback on the quality of work, explaining the strengths and weaknesses both of the project, commenting on the structure as well as the information that is included. 

What is Dislexia?

As with other learning disabilities, dyslexia is a lifelong challenge that people are born with. This language processing disorder can hinder reading, writing, spelling, and sometimes even speaking. Dyslexia is not a sign of poor intelligence or laziness. It is not the result of also impaired vision. Children and adults with dyslexia have a neurological disorder simply that causes their brains to process and interpret information differently.

What are the effects of dyslexia?

Dyslexia Can Affect people differently. This depends, in part, upon the severity of the learning disability and the success of alternate learning methods. Some with dyslexia can have trouble with reading and spelling, while others struggle to write, or to tell left from right. Some children show few signs of difficulty with early reading and writing. But later on, they May have trouble with complex language skills, Such as grammar, reading comprehension, and more in-depth writing.

Dyslexia can also make It difficult for people to Express Themselves Cleary. It can be hard for them to use vocabulary and to structure thoughts during their conversation. Others struggle to understand when people speak to them. This is not due to hearing problems. Instead, it's from trouble processing verbal information. It becomes even harder with abstract thoughts and non-literal language, jokes and proverbs Such as.

ALL of these effects can have a big impact on a person's self-image. Without help, children with learning often get frustrated. The stress of schoolwork often dealing with children with dyslexia makes lose the motivation to continue and overcome the hurdles They face.

What are the warning signs?

The Following are common signs of dyslexia in people of different ages. If you or someone you know displays these signs, It does not necessarily Mean You have a learning disability. But if troubles continue over time, consider testing for dyslexia.

Young Children

Trouble with:

• ·         Recognizing letters, matching letters to sounds, and blending sounds into speech
• ·         Pronouncing words, for example saying "Mawn lower" instead of "lawn mower"
• ·         Learning and using new vocabulary words correctly
• ·         Learning the alphabet, numbers, and days of the week or similar common word sequences
• ·         Rhyming

School-Age Children

Trouble with:

• ·         Mastering the rules of spelling
• ·         Remembering facts and numbers
• ·         Handwriting Or With gripping a pencil
• ·         Learning new skills and Understanding; instead, Relying heavily on memorization
• ·         Reading and spelling, Such as reversing letters (d, b) or moving letters around (left, felt)
• ·         Following a sequence of directions
• ·         Trouble with word problems in math

Teenagers & Adults:

Trouble with:   

• Reading at the expected level
• ·         Understanding non-literal language, Such as idioms, jokes, proverbs or
• ·         Reading aloud
• ·         Organizing and managing time
• ·         Trouble summarizing a story
• ·         Learning a foreign language
• ·         Memorizing

How is dyslexia treated?

It helps to identify dyslexia as early in life as possible. Adults with dyslexia unidentified often work in jobs below their intellectual capacity. But with help from a tutor, teacher, or other trained professional, almost all People with dyslexia can good readers and writers Become. Use the following Strategies to help to make progress with dyslexia.

Expose your child to early oral reading, writing, drawing, and practice to encourage development of print knowledge, basic letter formation, recognition skills, and linguistic awareness (The Relationship Between sound and meaning).

Have your child practice reading different kinds of texts. This includes books, magazines, ads, and comics.

Include multi-sensory, structured language instruction. Practice using sight, sound, and touch when introducing new ideas.

Seek modifications in the classroom. This might include additional time to complete assignments, help with note taking, oral testing, and other means of assessment.

Use books on tape and assistive technology. Examples are screen readers and voice recognition computer software.  Get help with the emotional issues That arise from struggling to overcome academic difficulties.

Reading and writing are key skills for daily living. However, it is important to other aspects of Also Emphasize learning and expression. Like all people, those with dyslexia enjoy activities that tap into their strengths and interests. For example, People with dyslexia may be attracted to fields that do not emphasize language skills. Examples are design, art, architecture, engineering, and surgery.

Technophobes vrs Technophiles

 Technophilia:
 This term was coined by American sociologist and cultural critic Neil Postman. Techno = technology and philia = love, sympathy, or love of technology. Postman also defined a new human being, the technophile: "those who view technology as a lover to his beloved, seeing without blemishes and without harboring any fear the future." Regarding the behavior of technophiles psychologists say there are different degrees of Technophilia dependence according to the technophile to develop technologies and that this can become an obsession.The technophiles are all over the world and usually with much purchasing power struggle to fill their empty interiors acquired in the form of pre-different items, especially electronics. They are the ones who have made long lines and slept in tents in Colombia and countries around the world to buy the latest versions of the various products of the brilliant silver apple of Steve Jobs, or other brands in the minds of lofty humanity.

 Technophobes: 

Who assume an attitude of rejection towards the latest technologies. These people have come to the place as technological illiterates who by their very condition flatly reject technological advances are not able to productively approach to these developments and in some cases fear them.Tick ​​to a technophobic person has become one of the new languages ​​to attack and incidentally encourage unbridled consumerism. Following the break time ICT with all its benefits many sectors of humanity are dismissed as technophobes because their inclusion in the new digital era is not as fast as others would for economic or educational and cultural training.

F.R.I.E.N.D.S. Fight for you. Respect you. Include you. Encourage you. Need you. Deserve you. Stand by you.

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