Signing Language does help verbal apraxia if Broca's area is involved

[Guest guest]

Signing Language " does " help verbal apraxia if Broca's area is involved.

Link is below:

http://www.sciencedirect.com/science?_ob=ArticleURL & _udi=B6WC0-4NTPWCF-2 & _user=1\

0 & _rdoc=1 & _fmt= & _orig=search & _sort=d & view=c & _acct=C000050221 & _version=1 & _urlVers\

ion=0 & _userid=10 & md5=0685a6dc234c1038c85cb01f95e34d35

It has been speculated that because speech-associated gestures could possibly

reduce lexical or sentential ambiguity, comprehension should improve in the

presence of speech-associated gestures. As a result of improved comprehension,

the involvement of Broca's area should be reduced.[3]

[Guest guest]

Thanks -I have a huge archive below on why sign language is so awesome for

children with speech impairments (and for all children before they learn

speech?) including the Canadian study from 2000 " Speech, Sign Language All the

Same to Brain " which I have always found very interesting.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Speech, Sign Language All the Same to Brain

Tue Dec 5, 2000 8:33 pm

" kiddietalk "

From http://www.healthscout.com/cgi-bin/WebObjects/Af?id=106129 & ap=43

There

are many medical and speech professionals, as well as parents who

believe

sign language, even " baby sign " is beneficial for any infant learning

to

talk, as well as any late talker, or apraxic child. Speaking of sign

language, here is an article that you may find of interest.

Speech, Sign Language All the Same to Brain

Communication modes light up same centers

By Adam Marcus

HealthScout Reporter

MONDAY, Dec. 4 (HealthScout) -- It might seem that, when it comes to

the way

the brain handles information, a conversation in sign language is a

world

apart from a telephone call. After all, the first is video and the

second

audio.

But Canadian scientists say they've found that deaf people activate

the same

brain regions when signing as speakers with undamaged hearing. " We've

shown

that this area, which typically is part of the auditory language

system,

does respond to these visual stimuli, " says Zatorre, a

neuroscientist

at McGill University in Montreal and co-author of the paper. " What we

have

to find out now is why it responds to these stimuli. " It could be,

Zatorre

says, that damage to the auditory language centers alters the nerves

that

handle visual language. Or, he says, it may be that the human brain

evolved

with a single, basic translator that processes communication. A

report on

the findings appears in the latest issue of the Proceedings of the

National

Academy of Sciences.

Some research has suggested that sign language triggers electrical

activity

in the brain's language centers. But it has been assumed that audio

cues

were processed in discrete areas and visual signals another.

Zatorre and his colleagues, led by Ann Petitto, used positron

emission

tomography -- a scanning technique that measures the blood flow to

tissue --

to examine neurons in areas of the brain thought to be specific to the

production and processing of speech.

The researchers studied 11 people with profound deafness from birth,

who

knew either American Sign Language or Langue des Signes Quebecoise, a

French

Canadian version of the language. For comparison, they also included

10

people without hearing trouble.

Same part of brain set off

The subjects were asked to perform five visual language tasks, such

as a

twist on word repetition and a verb generation exercise, while

undergoing

the brain scans.

In each of these tests, the two groups of subjects had similar brain

activity in the planum temporale, a brain area associated with oral

language. And in a drill to trigger a mental search for verbs, the

deaf

subjects also showed neuron activity in the left inferior frontal

cortex,

another area that helps process spoken words.

" Both the input and output are quite different, and yet the brain is

really

responding in the same way, " Zatorre says. " This area of the brain is

doing

something more abstract and more general than just processing sound. "

Dr. Caplan, a Harvard University neuroscientist and author of an

editorial accompanying the journal article, says the findings support

the

theory that humans have a hard-wired ability to understand language,

be it

spoken or visual. " At a higher level of abstraction it's all the

same. It

doesn't matter whether the input is visual, verbal, clicks, " or some

other

form, Caplan says.

" The brain doesn't seem to care about the modality that's being used

for

communication, " agrees Dr. Gannon, director of the

Neurobiology of

Language Laboratory at Mt. Sinai School of Medicine in New York

City. " It's

communication and language whether it's auditory or visual. "

Gannon, who has studied the planum temporale in chimps, says a

combined

auditory and visual language center for humans jibes with the way the

primates communicate. " Chimps use vocalization but mostly gestures, "

says

Gannon.

What's not clear from the work, however, is whether other rapidly

changing

stimuli -- traffic patterns, for instance -- trigger the same sort of

brain

activity in deaf people, Caplan says. " We don't know what happens in

deaf

people in this area when stimuli like that are presented, " he says.

What To Do

To learn more about sign languages, try HandSpeak,

http://dww.deafworldweb.org/asl/, or you can check out this article

in the

American Scientist.

http://www.sigmaxi.org/amsci/articles/99articles/corballisbrain.html

SOURCES: Interviews with Zatorre, Ph.D., associate professor of

cognitive neuroscience, McGill University, Montreal; Caplan,

M.D.,

Ph.D., Harvard University, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston; and

J. Gannon, director, Neurobiology of Language Laboratory,

assistant

professor of otolaryngology, Mt. Sinai School of Medicine, New York;

Dec. 5,

2000 Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences

Here's the " Reasons For Sign " I promised. Anyone have any questions

about sign language let us know!

From The Late Talker book St 's Press 2003

THE CASE FOR SIGN LANGUAGE

There has been considerable debate over the merits of teaching sign

language to non-verbal children. Some parents believe that it takes

away from the primary goal of getting their child to become vocal.

Their fear is that the child will become dependent on sign language

and unmotivated to acquire speech. Most speech experts are totally

in favor of the introduction of signing as early as possible because

it helps build vocabulary, reduces frustration, and expands

expressive language. Research indicates that signing is a stepping-

stone—albeit a very important one—on the way to speech. As the

child's ability to vocalize increases, signing falls by the wayside.

The signs are not an alternative to speech, but a method of helping

the child discover speech.

Sign language can be simple or complex. Most late-talking children

develop their own sign language, which is understood by their

immediate family, and which should be encouraged so they develop

enough key signs to make their basic needs known. Carnell

told us that when her son was two-and-a-half-years-old, and

still only saying one or two words, he and his parents learned how

to sign. " He picked it up very fast and his demeanor quickly

changed. Now that he had a way to communicate he was becoming a

happy, carefree child, " she remembers. " I cried the night I walked

into his room and saw him signing in his sleep. " Beyond late talkers

there is even a growing movement to teach sign language or " symbolic

gesturing " to all babies, so they can communicate at an earlier age

than has been considered the norm.

PICTURE EXCHANGE COMMUNICATION SYSTEM (PECS)

Another non-verbal mode of communication is picture exchange in

which illustrations are used instead of words. All the child has to

do is point at a picture icon to make himself understood. At its

most simple, you put together a book of picture symbols for your

child to carry with him. You let him decide the contents. One page

can be for breakfast items, another page for lunch, one for dinner,

one for drinks and desserts, and so forth. You can have pages of

faces showing different feelings, and pages for activities such as

reading a book, going to the park or the library, visiting

relatives, friends or the doctor, and going to the bathroom!

There are many places to find pictures. Online grocery stores like

www.netgrocer.com are ideal for food items, as are the Sunday

newspaper's coupon section and magazines. You can take photos, or

purchase picture cards from a number of sources. If you wish,

laminate the pictures to protect and strengthen them; glue food and

drink choices onto self-adhesive magnets and attach to your

refrigerator. But there's more to PECS than having a picture for a

glass of orange juice. It begins with the basic lesson that to get a

favorite item the child needs to hand over a picture of that item.

The child is then taught to create simple " sentences " such as, " I

want cookie. " From there, he learns to add clarity by using

attributes such as big/little, shape, position, and color. He also

discovers how to respond to simple questions, such as, " What do you

want? " before learning how to use the pictures to comment about

things around him: " I see a train! " " I hear a bird! " Many parents

(and some professionals) share the same concern expressed about sign

language; namely, that using a picture system inhibits speech

development. But there is no evidence of a negative outcome while

there is compelling support for the proposition that PECS encourages

speech.

From The Late Talker roughs

THE CASE FOR SIGN LANGUAGE

To sign or not to sign? There has been considerable debate by some

parents over the merits of teaching sign language to their nonverbal

children. Some parents believe that it takes away from the primary

goal of getting the child to become vocal. Their fear is that the

child will become dependent on sign language and therefore not be

motivated to acquire speech. Most speech experts are totally in

favor of the introduction of signing, and as early as possible. All

of the best research indicates that signing is but a stepping-stone—

albeit a very important one—on the way to speech. As the child's

ability to vocalize increases, signing falls by the wayside. Signing

is favored for many reasons. Among the most important:

IT BUILDS VOCABULARY. An essential element of an infant's

development is realizing that he can label things in the world

around him. Most children do so by attempting to speak the word. For

children who can't speak, signing not only gives them the

opportunity to show that they know what things are called; it also

helps them to learn more.

IT REDUCES TANTRUMS. With the acquisition of signs, the child

acquires the means to communicate. He can begin to make himself

understood, significantly reducing his frustration, which had

probably expressed itself in tears and tantrums. At the same time

your frustration is also decreased.

IT EXPANDS EXPRESSIVE LANGUAGE. Signing enables the child to acquire

expressive language, even if it is not spoken language. A child who

has difficulty producing the basic sounds of speech is at a distinct

disadvantage when it comes to learning how to string words together

in meaningful and correct sentences. Using sign gives that child a

way of exploring and mastering the development of language.

IT HELPS THE LISTENER. When used in tandem with a child's attempts

at speech, signing can greatly enhance the child's chance of being

understood. For instance, if a child is able to construct a three-

word sentence in which each word is an approximation, and therefore

not properly articulated, the listener may not comprehend what is

being said. Add sign to the vocal effort, and success is virtually

guaranteed.

IT REDUCES TEASING. It is less likely that a late-talker who signs

will be teased since the listener will assume that the child is

deaf, a more familiar condition which seems to inspire more

compassion.

As far as the human brain is concerned there's probably not as much

difference as you might think between spoken and sign communication.

A recent Canadian study using positron emission tomography (PET) to

peer inside the brain made a remarkable discovery. Scientists at

McGill University in Montreal found that deaf people—when signing—

activate the same regions of the brain as speakers without a hearing

problem.

These regions, the planum temporale and the left inferior frontal

cortex, had been associated with the processing of oral language.

But in a series of tests comparing eleven people with profound

deafness and ten people with normal hearing, blood flow was measured

within the brain and was very similar. Harvard University

neuroscientist, Dr. Caplan says that the findings support the

theory that humans have a hard-wired ability to understand language,

be it spoken or visual. "

The Late Talker St 's Press 2003

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