May 4, 2009

(DLD) Developmental Language Disorder

or dysphasia

A disorder that is involves a deficit in verbal ability.

agnosia

anosognosia n. Impaired ability or refusal to recognize that one has a sensory or motor impairment or, in some cases following a massive stroke and hemiplegia, even to recognize part of one's body as one's own. Also spelt anosagnosia. See also Anton's syndrome, agnosia. [From French anosognosi, named in 1914 by the French neurologist Josef F(rançois) F(élix) Babinski (1857–1932), from Greek an- without + nosos a disorder + gnosis knowledge + -ia indicating a condition or quality]




How to cite this entry:
"anosognosia n." A Dictionary of Psychology. Edited by Andrew M. Colman. Oxford University Press 2009. Oxford Reference Online. Oxford University Press. University of North Carolina - Greensboro. 1 May 2009

The film The Color of Words by Philippe Blasband

http://www.lacouleurdesmots.com/

This is the story of Marie, a young woman suffering from dysphasia. Sometimes her mother tongue sounds like a foreign language to her. This excludes her from the communication highways of life.
From one encounter to another, we measure the gap between Marie and the rest of the world, a gap that is very difficult to overcome.


THE COLOUR OF WORDS describes 24 hours in the life of Marie.
Today I will show a French film about a fictitious story of a lady who suffers from Dysphasia. We will briefly discus the film and then discuss treatment options.
The Color of Words
Dysphasia or DLD
The film is a fictitious story of 24 hours of a lady named Marie who suffers from Dysphasia. The film was produced by a French film maker named Philippe Blasband. In real life Mr. Blasband has a child with Dysphasia. He made this movie to show the nightmares a parent has when they wonder what their child’s life will be like as an adult.
In his website, Mr. Blasband interviews a Doctor who tells about Dysphasia.
Before you watch the two minute trailer of the film I would like to explain it a little.
The lady on the right arrives then sits down. She orders some wine. She has paperwork she needs her step sister to sign. Marie mentions she lost her job and has been drinking too much.
The step sister reminds her that the parents she has mentioned are not her real parents. At this point you will notice a change in Marie’s words. Read the captions and notice how the words change. Then, the ywill change back afer she calms down. Keep watching the clip and in a little while you will see the words Marie uses gets back to normal. After the trailer ends I will ask you what you think happened in the film.

2 minute clip

http://www.lacouleurdesmots.com/index_en.html

After the trailer ends:

What did you notice?

What happened?

How did the film maker show her sister’s reaction?

Do you think this is a realistic portrayal of an adult with Dysphasia?

• How does this portrayal relate to agnosia?
  
  The two youtube videos we watched are real (actual patients with their therapists) and the film is fiction.
  
  All three show agnosia.
• 
  
  Treatment
  
  How is aphasia treated?
  http://www.nidcd.nih.gov/health/voice/aphasia.asp
  
  In some cases, a person will completely recover from aphasia
  
  many people with aphasia experience partial spontaneous recovery
  
  In these instances, speech-language therapy is often helpful.
  
  What family can do:
  
  
  Simplify language by using short, uncomplicated sentences.
  
  Repeat the content words or write down key words to clarify meaning as needed.
  
  Maintain a natural conversational manner appropriate for an adult.
  
  Minimize distractions, such as a loud radio or TV, whenever possible.
  
  Include the person with aphasia in conversations.
  
  Ask for and value the opinion of the person with aphasia, especially regarding family matters.
  
  Encourage any type of communication, whether it is speech, gesture, pointing, or drawing.
  
  Avoid correcting the person’s speech.
  
  Allow the person plenty of time to talk.
  
  Help the person become involved outside the home. Seek out support groups such as stroke clubs.
  
  http://www.nidcd.nih.gov/health/voice/aphasia.asp
• ARTICLE
  
  Music tunes up the brain
  
  by: Concetta Tomaino, D.A.,
  Executive director of
  The Institute for Music and
  Neurologic Function, Beth
  Israel Abraham Family of Health
  Services, New YorkCity.
  
  Why teach singing to stroke
  survivors?
  
  People who have had a stroke on the left
  side of the brain might have expressive
  aphasia. They can understand speech,
  but they can't answer with anything more
  than "OK" or by echoing a few words
  they've just heard. However, they can
  often sing complete lyrics to songs. I
  found that if I got my patients to sing a
  lot, they were sometimes able to retrieve'
  words, and if I sang with them every day,
  sometimes they got their speech back. If
  you show objects on a table to people
  with aphasia, 9 times out of 10 they
  can't name them, but if they sing first,
  9 times out of 10 they can. I've seen it
  over and over, but now we are in the
  midst of a huge study to prove it rigorously.
  
  Does music also help other
  neurological ailments?
  Yes. In my first student job I was
  assigned to a dementia unit. Half of the
  people were catatonic, and the other
  half were so agitated they had to have
  their hands tied so they wouldn't pull out
  their nasogastric tubes. In my very first
  session, I started singing "let Me Call
  YouSweetheart." The catatonic people
  opened their eyes, the agitated people
  calmed down, and half of them started
  singing along with me. We have since
  done studies comparing music group
  therapy withconversational group therapy,
  Burn calories. Laughingboosts energy
  expenditure by 10 to 20 percent, according
  to Vanderbilt University researchers.
  Theycalculated that 15minutes of hearty
  laughter could burn up to 40 calories,
  enough to shed more than 4 pounds a
  year if done daily.
  Ease pain. Laughter contracts and
  relaxes muscles in the abdomen, face,
  and shoulders, which might ease muscle
  tension and spasms that contribute
  to pain. And the temporary distraction
  helps too.
  Recommendation: While 4-year-olds
  laugh about every 4 minutes, adults do
  it about once an hour. So spend time
  each day having fun. Trade jokes, watch
  comedies, horse around with your kids
  or grandkids, or share a laugh while in
  line at the grocery store. It will brighten
  your day-and maybe provide a much appreciated
  dose of mirthful medicine.
  
  
  ...and while the conversation groups
  improve a little bit, the music groups
  learn and retain a lot of new material.