Letter
A fictitious letter from the clinician to the client's significant other:
Dear Mr. Jones,
I would like to inform you about your wife's condition. We have diagnosed her with a condition called conduction aphasia. Due to the damage caused by her recent stroke, an area of her brain called the arcuate fasciculus has been left impaired. This area of the brain is responsible for transferring messages from Wernicke's area to Broca's area. Wernicke's area is responsible for comprehending language and Broca's area is responsible for expressing language. The arcuate fasciculus takes the message that is being comprehended and sends it to Broca's area to allow language expression.
Because there is an impairment in the arcuate fasciculus, your wife can still understand language and she can still express language, but she has difficulty with tasks such as repeating or reading aloud because it involves the communication of the two main areas of language.
Some of your wife's symptoms that you may notice is that she has difficulty reading aloud and a problem repeating words that have already been said to her. She still remains fluent, but has occassions where she jumbles up the letters in some of her words.
What you can do to assist your wife during this frustrating time is to be patient with her and don't attempt to correct her. She is quite aware of many of her mistakes which makes the condition all the more frustrating for her. Being patient will allow her to correct her own statements if she needs to do so. If you have to do most of the talking in order to carry on a conversation with her, this is okay because it still allows her to feel competent. Your wife is going through a very emotional and frustrating time in her life, so simply being there for her is the best thing you can do.
This will be a difficult time for the both of you so remember that any time you have any questions, feel more than free to ask me anything.
Thank you,
SLP
casto64
Audience: The audience for the piece is husband of a woman with Conduction aphasia.
Say Back: This letter states that Conduction aphasia is caused by lesion of the arcuate fasciculus, which connects Wernicke's and Broca's areas. This condition has an effect on speech, including repetition and reading aloud. Also, the piece states that a person's significant others can be a great support. There are certain things they can do to communicate more effectively with their loved one.
Bless: I like how you included the clinician's tips for communicating with the woman with Conduction aphasia. I'm sure this is an important aspect of a person's recovery. Good content.
Address: I would recommend that you use fewer technical terms because a person who is not familiar with this disorder may be overwhelmed by terms just as Broca's and Wernicke's. You might consider terms such as "tract," "language center," and "speech center."
butcher28
Audience: the letter is intended for the significant other of the client, MR. Jones.
Say Back: The SLP is informing the husband of his wife's condition. She explains his wife has been recently diagnosed with Conduction aphasia and an area of her brain the arcuate fasciculas has been damaged. Which impairs the ability of Wernicke's area and Broca's area to communicate with one another. The author also disccused how her comprehension and expression are not damaged but she has impairments in repeating or reading aloud. The SLP also gives the husband tips to be patient with her and don't attempt to correct her speech and simply be there for his wife during this frustrating time.
Bless: The letter sounds very professional and words are defined clearly for the novice reader to understand. Also, I like how you included tips for her husband to follow while he is trying to communicate with his wife.
Address: The only thing I could suggest to improve your letter is maybe include a paragraph about how speech therapy can improve his wife's speech and how it will be important for him to encourage and support his wife during her therapy. Overall good job!