Neuropsychological Rehabilitation in a Case of Afferent Motor Aphasia

Abstract

Objective.
Brain-damage derived impairments, such as aphasic syndromes, can result in several levels of
dysfunction in the subject’s activity, such as aphasic syndromes. Neuropsychology is the discipline which
is dedicated to the functional characterization of the rehabilitatory analysis of the aphasic syndromes.
Frequently, data obtained with the help of neurolinguistics and neuroimaging techniques (CAT, fIRM) are used
in neuropsychology.
Using case analysis, to present a rehabilitation method based on Luria’s principles which
demonstrate the advantage of using an assessment and rehabilitation diagnosis-related program for the creation
of treatment in afferent motor aphasia syndromes.
Method.
To achieve this goal a method of a case study was
carried out on a 30 year old patient with a recent vascular cerebral event, with initial assessment and diagnosis,
using a neuropsychological assessment battery designed for language evaluation, in individual sessions, and
a final assessment over a period of sixteen weeks. A neuropsychological rehabilitation intervention program
was designed, based on the articulation impairments identified during the first assessment, divided in a total
of four phases, each one with a specific objective.
Results.
The patient showed an improvement in phoneme
articulation skills, also a reduction in literal paraphasic symptoms, and an increase in the verbal expressive
language of the subject.
Conclusion.
The motor afferent language specific assessment, and the design of a
suitable treatment for the characteristics of this disorder, helped in the correction of the position and mode
articulation difficulties observed in this subject, as well as reorganization of higher complex thinking skills.