Aphasia — The neglected handicap — The forgotten children

Extract

The world of the Aphasic child is a strange and confusing one. Imagine yourself wearing earphones, dropped into China, allowed to listen to one or two words per sentence, being told from that to understand the culture and language, learn to speak the language, and educate yourself. This is a milder form of the problem faced by the aphasic child, for unlike the child, the traveller in China already knows the use of language, has a well established internal language albeit in English, and a good background in how cultures operate.