So ask your doctor for a protocol to address all the deficits represented by aphasia.
http://www.news-medical.net/news/20170330/Aphasia-may-not-solely-be-a-language-issue-as-traditionally-believed-study-shows.aspx
Aphasia, a language disorder commonly diagnosed in stroke patients,
may not be solely a language issue as traditionally believed, according
to a Penn State study.
The study adds to a growing body of research highlighting other
cognitive functions affected by aphasia, and indicates that the
consequences of brain damage in aphasia patients may be more extensive
than originally thought.
"The findings are significant because they can influence how patients
with aphasia are treated to ensure a more complete recovery," said
Chaleece Sandberg, assistant professor of communication sciences and
disorders at Penn State and principal investigator of the study.
"Aphasia is considered to be strictly a language deficit, but as a
field we are starting to embrace the notion that language is not
distinct from other functions, and that it is really integrated with
many other functions," Sandberg said.
The findings appeared in the February edition of Frontiers in Human Neuroscience.
Aphasia
is a communication disorder caused by damage to parts of the brain that
control language, according to the American Speech-Language-Hearing
Association. The most common cause of aphasia is stroke. Patients
diagnosed with aphasia can have difficulty speaking and understanding
spoken words as well as difficulty reading and writing.
Sandberg's study of adults with aphasia compared to same-age healthy
adults indicates that issues may extend beyond language portions of the
brain and therefore require additional intervention programs to ensure
patients' full recovery.
Specifically, Sandberg studied resting-state fMRI data, meaning subjects were awake, but not performing any task.
"Regions involved in hearing, vision, motor processing, attention and
executive functions like organization and planning -- even when at rest
-- are still all highly connected and talking to each other, forming
distinct networks," Sandberg said.
However, in brains at rest in people with aphasia, networks involved
in hearing, motor processing, attention and executive functions were not
as strongly connected as the same networks in the control group.
"The regions in these networks are not talking to each other as much
as healthy adults of the same age, even in networks where brain damage
didn't occur. This suggests widespread problems beyond the specific site
of damage, which may cause problems for communication in the whole
system, not only in networks that have specific damage," Sandberg said.
The study is one of the first pieces of neuroimaging evidence to support a broader approach to aphasia treatment.
"When we are looking at ways to help people with aphasia recover
their language function, we really need to look at the whole brain
system and think about aspects of cognition such as attention and memory
and how they may be affecting recovery of language function."
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