Aphasia research gives hope

Press, 20 February 1979, Page 11

Aphasia research gives hope

Sufferers from aphasia — a little-known brain disorder which leaves them struggling to understand the spoken word — may have new hope. A big breakthrough in the treatment of the braindamaged condition is expected as a result of a research project being done by the University of Canterbury at an estimated cost of more than $lOO,OOO.

Aphasia affects people suffering from strokes, those injured in accidents and young children who receive brain damage at birth.

The research project, now two years old, has been conducted by Dr Jeanne Perry, senior lecturer in psychology at the University of Canterbury, working with Mr Graeme Martin, a consultant neurosurgeon at Wellington Hospital, and Dr Murray Smith, a statistician. A crucial stage has been reached in the work with the building of a machine which can test the ability of people to respond to various forms of treatment, helping them to relearn speech. A second unit will be built soon using micro-

processors, enabling previous material to be stored so that the aphasic patient can recall already learned material. These two units have been developed by a university technician, Mr G. Davis, and Mr A. Barth, a senior lecturer in electrical engineering at the University of Canterbury. Use of the micro-proces-sors, it is hoped, will help aphasic patients to sort out material which they have retained in their brain “improperly.” Dr Perry said that a measure of the importance attached to the second

machine is the fact that the university will employ six professional engineering students on the project for the next 10 months. Parallel to the development of the testing and treatment machines the research project has been able to use students supplied by the student employment relief scheme to develop a languagelearning test. This will make it possible, for the first time in New Zealand, to test young handicapped children with speech disorders to see if they have the potential to learn and

retain information. “Two more students will work for the next year on this. The medical profession, and particularly the speech therapists, are right behind this project for there are too few speech therapists in this country and they have not enough time or facilities to undertake the work that the university has made possible for us to do,” Dr Perry said. “What we have done so far gives us great hope. What we are aiming for we are confident will solve many problems for aphasic people,” she said.