The article compares normal language comprehension with that in aphasic patients in terms of both sentence and discourse comprehension. Implications for treatment of aphasic patients include emphasizing comprehension of main ideas, rather than details, and using materials with high imagery and personal relevance. (DB)

The article describes an approach to aphasia description and intervention based on analysis of speech pauses and hesitations. The concepts of pause, planning, and paraphasia (a language production error involving substitution or replacement) are distinguished. Three case studies illustrate application of the technique. (DB)

Treatment of acquired reading disorders are discussed in terms of reading processes, assessment, and external/internal factors affecting comprehension. Treatment methods are distinguished for severely impaired, moderately impaired, and mildly impaired patients. (DB)

Three modes of using the microcomputer in aphasia rehabilitation include the dependent mode (with the clinician in the clinic setting), the clinic-based independent mode, and the home-based mode. Also considered are hardware and software selection, patient selection, clinician responsibilities, and family support. A case study illustrates…

Drawing as therapy for the expressively restricted aphasic adult is discussed with sections on: drawing and acquired brain damage, communication through drawing in aphasia, and training expressively restricted aphasic patients to draw communicatively by use of the Lyon/Sims Program. (DB)

Nonfluent and fluent dysphasic subjects (N=22) and nondysphasic subjects (N=20) were assessed on tasks of word fluency and picture-naming. Results showed that clinical language examinations should utilize contexts other than naming tasks for detecting the presence of word retrieval problems and for differentiating the two polar types of dysphasia.…

This study of four moderately to severely aphasic subjects found that success in manual sign training programs is related to severity of aphasia, that aphasic subjects' propositional use of manual signs rarely follows simple acquisition, and that generalization to untrained stimuli or environments does not occur without additional training.…

The paper traces the histories of several language disorders and the recommended educational treatment for them. It covers the historical events in medicine and education that have contributed to the confusion in relation to aphasia, dyslexia, and perceptual-motor disorders. (JDD)

The Psychotic Behavior Rating Scale uses a factor analysis approach to aid in differential diagnosis of autism, schizophrenia, mental retardation, aphasia, and other severe handicaps. The scale is compared with five existing qualitatively developed instruments, noting similarities and dissimilarities among the various scales. (Author/JDD)

Reexamines the question of why pattern practice fails by hypothesizing about the information processing activities that they entail. (Author/CFM)