Definitions
BEFAST
BEFAST stands for: Balance Loss, Eyes, Facial Droop, Arm Weakness, Speech, Time lost is brain lost
You evaluate a client who has the following symptoms:
good naming skills
fluent language production
good auditory comprehension
good repetition skills
poor attention
poor memory
What type of aphasia do you suspect this client has?
None - This client does not have aphasia and, instead, likely presents with cognitive-communicative deficits.
True or False: Hemorrhagic strokes are the result of interrupted or blocked blood flow to the brain.
False: Hemorrhagic strokes are the result of a bleed. Thrombo-embolic (ischemic) strokes are the result of interrupted or blocked blood flow to the brain.
Auditory Comprehension (A/C)
Auditory Comprehension (A/C) refers to a person's ability to understand what they hear through listening.
You evaluate a client with poor auditory comprehension and poor repetition skills who produced the following Cookie Theft description:
You know that smuddle flinkered and that mom wants to get them around here.
What type of aphasia do you suspect the client has?
Wernicke's
True or False: A clinician provides a client with the verbal instruction "Point to your nose." The input in this example is verbal.
False: In this example, the input is auditory. Remember that we think of inputs from the client's perspective.
Zone of Language
The anatomical region of the left hemisphere that includes Broca’s and Wernicke's areas, subcortical white matter pathways, and surrounds the Sylvian fissure. This region receives blood distribution from the middle cerebral artery.
You see a client who has language production that is generally slow, effortful, and agrammatic, good auditory comprehension, and good repetition skills. What type of aphasia do you suspect the client has?
Transcortical Motor
True or False: Inconsistent errors and groping are common signs of apraxia of speech.
True
tPA
tPA stands for tissue plasminogen re-activator. It can be used to break up blood clots.
You evaluate a client with good auditory comprehension and poor repetition skills who produced the following Cookie Theft description:
Cookie. . . boy and girl. Mother. Wash . . . dishes. Water.
What type of aphasia do you suspect the client has?
Broca's
True or False: An SLP can assess a client's mental status by completing a confrontation naming task.
False: Confrontation naming tasks (e.g. asking "what's this" while showing the client an object) are commonly used to assess for anomia in aphasia clients. To assess a client's mental status, a clinician will want to determine if the client is alert, aware and oriented.
Fluency
Fluency refers to the length, ease, and flow of expressive language.
You see a client who has language production that is relatively typical in rate and produced without apparent effort, relatively good auditory comprehension skills, and poor repetition skills. What type of aphasia do you suspect the client has?
Conduction
True or False: Nonfluent aphasia results in language production that is generally slow, effortful, and agrammatic, with disordered melodic line.
True