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The Relation of Stuttering and AphasiaColin SproulUniversity of North TexasAbstractThe research stated in the following pages reflects the relationship of stuttering and the neurological condition known as aphasia. The text defines the two terms and describes the symptoms and causes. The paper then goes into citing other articles and studies that show statistical information on cases of patients who have aphasia and their related experiences with stuttering. The paper also includes information on the types of aphasia according to severity along with unpaired occurrences of aphasia and stuttering. It then transitions to more in-depth information on stuttering and the different developmental and acquired cases along with the point of view of the patient and what it is like to experience stuttering and aphasia. The text then goes on to explain the close relationship between aphasia and stuttering and common confusions between the two conditions. It states treatment and possibility of mortal danger from the condition. The paper then concludes with a paragraph restating the information on aphasia and stuttering and how it is proven that the two conditions are closely correlated. finally, the article states stuttering to be one example of an exact effect from aphasia.The Relation of Stuttering and AphasiaAphasia is a neurological dysfunction that sometimes is the cause of acquired stuttering. There is no clear discoverer of aphasia, although cases of aphasia have been recorded as long ago as ancient Egypt. Stuttering is a common speech impediment that some experience in child development. Few experience stuttering through adulthood. Stuttering is defined as speech characterized by frequent lengthening or repeating of a single sound, syllabic sounds and words, or by frequent faltering and pauses that interrupt the rhythmic conversation flow (Osawa, Maeshima, and Yoshimura, 2006). Stuttering is closely tied to aphasia because it is commonly a side effect. To say that aphasia and stuttering have no correlation is incorrect. Aphasia is a disturbance of the comprehension and formulation of language caused by dysfunction in specific brain regions (Damasio, 1992). Stuttering is one of many results from aphasia. When one has a condition of aphasia, one of the effects from their difficulty formulating language is a speech impediment previously stated as stuttering.Aphasia is usually caused from brain damage. The most common brain injury causing aphasia is stroke, along with less common causes such as cancer, epilepsy, and Alzheimer’s according to Truven Health Analytics Inc. (2012). A recent study shows a sample of patients who received aphasia from strokes, “About one-third of patients with acute stroke had presented with aphasia.”(Laska et al., 2001). There are two different types of aphasia, Broca’s Aphasia, and Wernicke’s Aphasia. Broca’s aphasia is a mild version of aphasia with a good comprehension of words and text, but speaking is difficult and often slow. Wernicke’s aphasia is a more extreme version of aphasia with almost no comprehension of speech. Stuttering and Aphasia are not always paired. One can experience stuttering without either Broca’s or Wernicke’s aphasia. One could also have aphasia, but the effects can be something other than stuttering, a simple example would be very slow speech and skipping of some words or phrases. When one has aphasia, they can experience great difficulty in producing some words or phrases. Aphasia can be caused from neurological brain damage such as cerebral infarction as shown by researchers Osawa, Maeshima, and Yoshimura (2006). Stuttering can be either acquired or developmental. When experiencing stuttering for the first time in either adolescence or mature adulthood, it is referred to as “acquired stuttering”( Van Borsel, 2001). Stuttering can simply be caused by rushed speech, lack of focus, misreading of text, etc. but it is also one of the effects of Aphasia. Some who experience stuttering may assume that they have aphasia, but this is not always the case with individuals with acquired stuttering problems. After one with Aphasia is prepared to speak, even if the words they wish to say are clearly visualized in their thought, they have trouble converting their thought to a physical action of speech in an understandable manner. Those who experience stuttering do not usually have a problem in understanding what they want to say, but more in converting what they want to say into spoken words. Their neurological activity is impaired when processing a speech thought into a spoken action; this is the condition of either Broca’s aphasia or Wernicke’s aphasia depending on severity and other variables. It is sometimes inferred that stuttering and aphasia have no relation whatsoever, however many tests have shown that there is a clear correlation between the two. Cases of stuttering can be grouped into two categories, those who experience stuttering because of aphasia, and those who experience stuttering because of a motor speech condition (Lundgren, Helm-Estabrooks, and Klein, 2010). An example of acquired stuttering from aphasia was from research observed by Osawa, Maeshima, and Yoshimura (2006), which show their patient’s condition was characterized by development of Wernicke’s aphasia due to cerebral infarction accompanied by acquired stuttering. These two tested categories prove that although stuttering can be independent from aphasia, it is also one of the provable effects form aphasia. Because stuttering can be acquired, this means that if a patient were to receive aphasia either from neurological trauma, from an incident, or from a birth defect, then stuttering can be acquired.Acquired aphasia from neurological brain damage has numerous causes. Either it can be head injury from physical actions such as sports or accidents, or a developmental defect, acquired aphasia is result from many, if not infinite, causes. Obviously one of the results of aphasia, stuttering, is variable depending on the patient’s neurological condition and ability to speak. Since Aphasia is physical damage in the brain, it cannot be treated simply with therapy, however with biological intervention such as surgery or pharmaceuticals added with therapy to help strengthen cognition, it is possible to rebuild and cure aphasia. Only acute aphasia can possibly be cured by extensive therapy. Since stuttering is not a physical defect, it is much more commonly cured with therapy. Speech therapy is a profession in which a therapist treats speech disorders and defects. With speech therapy, stuttering can be curable, however not always easily. Curing stuttering with therapy can take years. Even though stuttering can be cured simply with speech therapy, the patient will still have aphasia, given the cause of their speech impediment was aphasia originally. There have been few cases reported of aphasia accompanied by acquired stuttering, probably because it is difficult to discriminate between aphasia and acquired stuttering as the non-fluency including parenthetical expressions for filling the silence and reiteration for correcting utterances, observed in patients with aphasia is similar to that in patients with AS (Osawa, Maeshima, and Yoshimura, 2006). Nonetheless, acquired stuttering in patients diagnosed with aphasia has been seen and reported. Of course there are numerous cases of individuals who have stuttering problems and do not have aphasia. In these cases, stuttering may not be as intense as cases of individuals who have both stuttering and aphasia. There have been no recorded cases of fatalities caused from aphasia. Obviously the results of fatality from stuttering are the same. Although some cases of acquired aphasia from stroke are severe, none have been the cause of death. It is important to note that although there have been recoded fatalities from stroke, this does not mean that aphasia has caused death, aphasia is an effect from stroke and not the reverse. Therefore a stroke can cause aphasia however there have never been any recorded patients whose stuttering has caused aphasia. Aphasia is only acquired from neurological dysfunction or brain damage. The neurological dysfunction known as aphasia is caused from physical brain damage mainly from stroke. Aphasia can be treated with medical attention and therapy, although various types of aphasia are more difficult to treat than others. Visible, or in this case audible, effects of aphasia can often be in the form of stuttering. Stuttering is a speech impediment that is in some cases caused by aphasia. Stuttering is also treatable but less medical attention is required. Stuttering can be cured simply with speech therapy alone. As recently proven, stuttering is a common effect acquired from aphasia. One could go so far as to say that stuttering could be caused from stroke, because a stroke may result in aphasia, and those who receive aphasia are commonly seen with problems with stuttering. It is more accurate to look at a stuttering disorder as a common effect of aphasia, rather than to look at acquired stuttering and assume that the cause was probably aphasia. This means that stuttering common in patients with aphasia, but stuttering can have multiple causes, ranging from simple thought confusion to acquired aphasia from stroke. The results of numerous tests conducted on patients with aphasia have shown that patients can have stuttering disorders that were directly caused from the neurological disorder aphasia.ReferencesOsawa, A., Maeshima, S. & Yoshimura, T. (2006). Acquired stuttering in a patient with Wernicke’s aphasia. Journal of Clinical Neuroscience, 13, 1066-1069. doi: , A. (1992). Aphasia. The New England Journal of Medicine, 326, 531-539. doi: 10.1056/NEJM199202203260806Van Borsel, J. (2001). Neurogenic stuttering versus developmental stuttering: An observer judgement study. Journal of Communication Disorders, 35, 385-395. doi: (01)00057-0Aphasia. (2012). In CareNotes. Truven Health Analytics Inc. Retrieved from , A. C., Hellblom, A., Murray, V., Kahan, T. and Von Arbin, M. (2001), Aphasia in acute stroke and relation to outcome. Journal of Internal Medicine, 249:?413–422. doi:?10.1046/j.1365-2796.2001.00812.x ................
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