October 16th, 2005

Pamphlet

Broca’s Aphasia
The Basics

What is Broca’s Aphasia?

Broca’a aphasia is a language disorder that causes difficulty with expressive language while maintaining the ability to read and understand speech. (National Aphasia Association [NAA], 1999)

Characteristics

- Effortful speech

- Telegraphic phrases

- Presence of apraxia

- Naming problems

- Slow speech

- Poor intonation

- Poor writing

- Good auditory comprehension

(Shipley and McAfee, 2004)

Causes

Broca’s aphasia occurs when damage is done to the area of the brain known as Broca’s area.  Broca’s area is located in the left hemisphere on the inferior section of the frontal gyrus (see illustration).  Damage to Broca’s Area is most commonly due to a stroke, but can also be caused by head trauma, brain tumors, or infections. (NAA, 1999)

(Note: A picture of the brain will appear here with Broca's area highlighted.  It would not show up on here.)

            Broca’s Area -------------------è

 

Treatment

There is no cure for Broca’s aphasia.  Surgery can be effective if the damage is caused by a tumor.  When damage is caused by a stroke there is some spontaneous recovery during the time immediately following the stroke.  Speech therapy is the most common treatment for Broca’s aphasia.  Speech therapy helps the client to make the most of the remaining skills and learn to compensate when needed (NAA, 1999).

For More Information

National Aphasia Association- http://www.aphasia.org/

American Speech Language Hearing Association- http://www.asha.org/

Posted by KimLucas at 04:48 AM | 2 comments
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Comment posted on October 21st, 2005 at 11:42 PM
Voice: Speech pathologist

Audience: General audience

Say Back: The pamphlet was a brief overview of Broca's aphasia. The pamphlet described what Broca's aphasia is, the characteristics, causes, and also treatment for Broca's aphasia.

Bless: You did a really good job at briefly describing Broca's aphasia. The description was easy to read and gave a good overview of Broca's aphasia.

Address: You could talk a little more about the treatment of Broca's aphasia. You mentioned speech therapy, but didn't say very much about it. I would talk about how they can make the most of remaining skills.
Comment posted on October 21st, 2005 at 07:05 PM
Kim (genre 4)

Voice: That of the speech language pathologist

Audience: The general public

Say back: The pamphlet gives a brief description of Broca’s aphasia, symptoms commonly seen in people with the disorder, causes of the disorder, and treatments for which to combat the effects of Broca’s aphasia.

Bless: The pamphlet looks very well organized and to the point. It is also very well cited. The attempt to provide a visual on the area of the brain affected by Broca’s aphasia was also a good touch. It’s a tool I haven’t seen anyone else use yet.

Address: You might want to add a little bit more to the description of Boca’s aphasia at the beginning of your pamphlet. This seems like to general a description of the disorder. You also might want to provide a little bit of a lead-in concerning the occurrence and severity of the symptoms related to your disorder.