1) Aphasia is a language disorder caused by damage to the central nervous system, most commonly from stroke, tumor, trauma, or disease. 2) Symptoms of childhood aphasia include difficulties with word-finding, vocabulary, comprehension, pronunciation, grammar, and reading/writing. 3) Recovery is generally faster and more complete in children than adults, though the right hemisphere can take over language functions if damage occurs early enough in the left hemisphere.

1. Acquired Childhood
Aphasia
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2. Aphasia
• A language disorder may also be caused by
damage to the central nervous system, which
is called aphasia.

3. Developmental language disorder
• When the cause is unknown, it is called a
developmental language disorder.
• Language disorders may occur in children with
other developmental problems such as
autistic spectrum disorders, hearing loss, and
learning disabilities.

4. What is acquired aphasia?
• Acquired aphasia during childhood is almost
never fluent (mutism), but they recover
rapidly.

5. Prevalence
• Approximately 1 in 20 children has symptoms
of a language disorder.

6. Causes
• Result of accident or disease
 Stroke
 Tumor
 Trauma
 Disease (e.g., Pick’s Disease,
AKA fronto temporal dementia)

7. Development
• Aphasia may occur suddenly or develop over
time, depending on the type and location of
brain tissue damage.

8. Signs and symptoms
• Word-finding and vocabulary difficulties
• Inability to comprehend language
• Inability to pronounce
• Inability to form words
• Inability to name objects
• Persistent repetiotions of phrases
• Paraphasia (substitution of letters or words)
• Agrammatism (inability to speak in a grammatically
correct form)
• Uncompleted sentences
• Inability to write
• Inability to read

9. Age
• 0-3 months: no effect
• 21-36 months: all language
accomplishments disappear; language is
re-acquired with repetition of all stages.
• 3-10 years: aphasic symptoms, tendency
for full recovery
• 11th year on: aphasic symptoms persist.

10. • Language disorders are rarely caused by a lack
of intelligence.

11. Recovery
• Recovery is faster, better than in adult
acquired aphasia, but not complete.

12. Hemispheres
• Early enough, right hemisphere can take over
language functions after a serious loss in the
left hemisphere, but it doesn’t do as good a
job.