Exam Questions - Assignment #4

Like humans, Tralfamadoreans suffer strokes that can frequently induce aphasias similar to ours including versions of Broca's, Wernicke's, and Conduction aphasias. A Tralfamadorean scientist has been thinking hard about how to help patients with these aphasias recover some language function, and has a brilliant idea: Perhaps attempting to teach them a new language will be more useful than rehabilitating their original language! To that end, he resolves to try and teach his aphasic patients sign language.

For each of Broca's aphasia, Wernicke's aphasia, and Conduction aphasia, describe:

(A) Any reasons you have for thinking that a patient with this disorder might be successful in learning and using sign language after their injury.

(B) Specific reasons why patients with each kind of aphasia might struggle withlearning sign language. In particular, think carefully about what kinds of things one has to usually do to learn a new language and consider how each aphasia might make these specific activities challenging.

[C] Finally, describe a tactic you might adopt to try and overcome one of the challenges you identified for each patient in Part B. Describe what you will try to do to overcome the problem and offer your best justification for why this might work given your understanding of the aphasic disorder.