6 - Disruption of Written Language in Aphasia

Abstract

This chapter outlines some of the research work on the acquisition, structure, and pathology of the written languages. It also presents the analysis of two types of original data: the writing of a group of subjects responding to a pictorial stimulus and the spontaneous writing of one aphasic patient in the form of letters and diaries. Assessments of written language have largely been the work of educational psychologists, whose techniques are essentially methods for measuring complexity or variety in samples of writing from selected populations writing to specific tasks. Increase in the length of composition and of its components is one manifestation of increased writing maturity. Vocabulary development is usually measured along three parameters: fluency, diversity, and complexity. Writing disturbances are usually part of a complex aphasic syndrome in which writing is the most disrupted component. Focal cerebral lesions in childhood can result in language disruptions similar to the aphasic disorders of the adult. Childhood aphasia involves the nervous system and language function in the process of maturation. At the level of syntax and morphology, three primary areas of errors are isolated: verbs, articles, and prepositions. In the use of verbs, omission of the auxiliary in present progressive is the most frequent error, followed in frequency by tense shift from past to present. In the use of articles, omissions of both definite and indefinite articles are observed, while additions and substitutions are rare. In the use of prepositions, mostly omissions are encountered, with infrequent substitutions and no additions.