Children with Acquired Aphasias

The acquired aphasias of childhood are those language disorders which appear after a period of normal language development and are secondary to cerebral dysfunction. Though acquired childhood aphasias (ACA) are at present rare, it seems likely that with improvements in paediatric intensive care facilities more children will be surviving serious brain injury - one of the potential causes of ACA - and that there is therefore an increasing likelihood that speech and language therapists will find children with acquired aphasia under their care. This book introduces ACA and looks in detail at some of the different causes and effects commonly encountered in clinical practice. Part one deals with those aphasias of traumatic origin and part two covers those where the origin thought to be connected to convulsive activity. Cases in which both aetiologies converge are also discussed, as are some of the other conditions in which the regression of language during childhood is one symptom. A wide range of cases is discussed and details of assessment procedures, recovery and management strategies are given.