The single subject alternating treatment design experiment reported here compared the effectiveness of pencil-and-paper versus computerized communication treatment for neurologically impaired adults. Five stroke patients receiving outpatient speech/language treatment (ages 51-72) served as subjects. One subject completed the experiment as designed and clearly supported the hypothesis that a higher number of correct responses would be produced using the computer generated exercises than the pencil-and-paper version. Two subjects were unable to demonstrate improvement using the experimental treatment program and the other two subjects were unable to master keyboarding skills necessary to use the computer effectively. However, four out of five subjects preferred using the computer even though it did not result in improved performance. Details of specific subjects' performance, and benefits and cautions regarding computer use are discussed. Results suggest that adequate receptive language skills favor effective computer use while impulsivity and visual spatial deficits may be expected to interfere. Careful matching of treatment task to the individual is important; if the task is too easy or too difficult potential benefit of computer use may be masked. The study also supports the finding that computer use is a highly motivating treatment technique for some patients and may be of benefit even if improved task performance does not result. Suggestions for further research include comparison of computerized versus non-computerized treatment for a greater variety of tasks, careful task analysis of currently available software, examination of techniques for training the mechanics of computer use, examination of specific subject characteristics which correlate with successful use of the computer, and determination of which aspect of computer use, specific feedback or improved motivation, is responsible for improved performance. / Graduation date: 1992

<p>I föreliggande studie undersöktes kommunikativa resurser i samtal mellan tre personer med afasi och deras respektive logoped/anhörig. Syftet var att identifiera och analysera resurser som samtalsdeltagarna gemensamt använde för att uppnå intersubjektivitet. Vidare undersöktes om det, utifrån vem personen med afasi samtalade med, fanns någon inverkan på hur de kommunikativa resurserna användes. Sex dyader spelades in och samtalsanalys användes för att studera materialet. Samtalsämnen valdes fritt av samtalsdeltagarna. Analysen resulterade i identi¬fie¬ring av tre bevarade resurser hos personerna med afasi; upprepningar, gester och skratt. Det gemensamma för dessa resurser var; att de förekom i den naturliga sekventialiteten i samtalet, att deras kommunikativa funktioner uppstod i samarbetet mellan samtalsdeltagarna och att de bidrog till intersubjektiviteten. Resurserna visade även på en social kompetens hos deltagarna med afasi som ofta döljs av de språkliga hindren. Då de kommunikativa resurserna fick liknande funktioner i de olika dyaderna, är resultatet troligen generaliserbart till annan interaktion där personer med afasi deltar. Resursernas kommunikativa funktioner föreföll inte bero på vem samtalspartnern var. Slutsatsen var att språklig kompetens hos personer med afasi framför allt bör ses ur ett inter¬aktivt perspektiv och att ett sådant förhållningssätt är önskvärt i logopediskt behandlingsarbete.</p> / <p>Analysis of Talk-in-Interaction involving People with Aphasia and Speech and Language Pathologists/Spouses: The Use of Communicative Resources in Collaboration toward Intersubjectivity.</p><p>In the present study, communicative resources in conversations involving three persons with aphasia and their speech and language pathologists/spouses were investigated. The main purpose was to identify and analyse collaboratively used resources for achieving intersubjectivity. In addition, possible changes in the use of the communicative resources depending on conversational partner were investigated. The conversations of six dyads were recorded and analysed. Conversational topics were chosen by the participants. Through the analysis three preserved resources for participants with aphasia could be identified; repetitions, gestures and laughter. All resources occurred within the natural sequentiality of the conversation, their communicative functions emerged in collaboration of the participants and contributed to intersubjectivity. The social competence of the persons with aphasia, often concealed by the language impairment, was also revealed. The results may possibly be generalised to other communicative activities where persons with aphasia participate, since similar communicative functions were achieved through the same resources in different dyads. The functions of the resources were not determined by conversational partner. To conclude, it may be argued that linguistic competence of persons with aphasia should mainly be considered in an interactive perspective and that this view is preferred in language therapy.</p>

Around 30,000 people in Sweden suffer stroke every year, out of which about 12,000 end up with language difficulties, aphasia. Behind every person with aphasia there are significant others whose lives are also affected. Studies of how aphasia affects the health of these people are few. The overall aim of the present study was to examine how significant others of people with aphasia perceive their life situation, and how their quality of life is affected by the illness of their partner. Spouses of people with aphasia were contacted through aphasia groups and the Swedish Aphasia Association. A total of eleven people participated in the study, which consisted of the health survey SF-36 and semi-structured interviews. The results indicated that men, working people, and people at retirement age are at risk of having a lower health-related quality of life, by living with a person suffering from aphasia. Other factors that seemed to contribute to a lower quality of life were; a more severe aphasia, a big work load at home, less mutual activities as a couple, and a general decrease of communication in everyday life. The conclusion is therefore, that the health-related quality of life is at risk of becoming negatively affected by living with a person who suffers from aphasia. / Varje år insjuknar cirka 30 000 personer i stroke i Sverige och av dem drabbas cirka 12 000 av språkliga svårigheter i form av afasi. Bakom varje person med afasi finns det anhöriga, vars liv också påverkas. Hur afasin påverkar den anhöriges hälsa är inte väl studerat. Det övergripande syftet med föreliggande studie var därmed att undersöka hur anhöriga, till personer med afasi, uppfattar sin egen livssituation, samt hur deras livskvalitet påverkas av den närståendes sjukdom. Partner till personer med afasi kontaktades genom afasigrupper och afasiföreningar. Totalt valde elva personer att deltaga i studien, vilken bestod av hälsoenkäten SF-36 samt en semistrukturerad intervju. Resultaten pekade på att män, yrkesverksamma och personer i pensionsålder riskerar att få en lägre hälsorelaterad livskvalitet av att leva med någon med afasi. Övriga faktorer, som tycktes bidra till en lägre livskvalitet, var en svårare afasi, en hög börda i hemmet, färre gemensamma aktiviteter som par samt en generell försämring av kommunikationen i vardagen. Slutsatsen är därmed att den hälsorelaterade livskvaliteten riskerar att påverkas negativt av att leva med en person som drabbats av afasi.

Le rôle que jouent les services orthophoniques dans l’ajustement des proches de personnes aphasiques ainsi que le contexte dans lequel les orthophonistes mettent en place des interventions auprès de ces proches ne sont actuellement pas connus. La présente thèse a donc pour but de comprendre de quelle manière les relations entre les orthophonistes et les proches de personnes aphasiques, développées en contexte de réadaptation, s’inscrivent dans la trajectoire dynamique des proches et dans la pratique des orthophonistes. Une approche qualitative par théorisation ancrée a été utilisée dans quatre études pour analyser les entrevues effectuées auprès de proches de personnes aphasiques et d’orthophonistes. Dans l’étude 1, les entrevues menées à trois reprises dans la première année suivant l’accident vasculaire-cérébral (AVC), et ce, auprès de quatre filles dont la mère est aphasique, ont été analysées. Un modèle théorique représentant la relation mère-fille a été développé. Ce modèle illustre que les perceptions de fragilité, de difficultés et de compétence, qu’ont les filles à l’égard de leur mère, les amènent à adopter des comportements de protection ou de confiance, ce qui génère des réactions de satisfaction ou d’insatisfaction chez la mère, renforçant alors les perceptions initiales des filles. Quatre patterns relationnels peuvent donc coexister au sein d’une même dyade. L’aphasie complexifierait cet ajustement relationnel. Dans l’étude 2, les entrevues effectuées à trois reprises durant la première année suivant l’AVC, auprès d’une fille dont la mère est sévèrement aphasique, ont été analysées. Un modèle théorique représentant l’expérience d’aider a été élaboré. Selon ce modèle, percevoir des difficultés chez sa mère et ressentir que leur relation antérieure est menacée a déclenché le processus d’aide chez la fille. Parallèlement, la reconnaissance de la compétence de sa mère a motivé la fille à offrir de l’aide visant à rendre sa mère heureuse et à favoriser son indépendance. Ce type d’aide a contribué à augmenter l’indépendance de sa mère, à retrouver une relation satisfaisante avec celle-ci et à s’adapter à l’aphasie. Dans l’étude 3, les entrevues de 12 proches de personnes aphasiques ont été analysées. Un modèle théorique représentant l’expérience de l’aphasie et de la réadaptation post-AVC a été développé et illustre que les proches sont centrés sur la personne aphasique et participent à la réadaptation dans le rôle d’aidant. Cette disposition influence alors leurs attentes envers la réadaptation, leurs interactions avec les professionnels, dont les orthophonistes, et leur appréciation de la réadaptation. Dans l’étude 4, les entrevues effectuées auprès de huit orthophonistes travaillant en réadaptation ont été analysées. Un modèle théorique illustrant le processus d’intervention des orthophonistes auprès des proches de personnes aphasiques a été construit. Pour les orthophonistes, le travail avec les proches est majoritairement perçu comme un ajout positif, mais exigeant, à leur pratique de base centrée sur la personne aphasique. Une satisfaction professionnelle peut en découler, mais des idéaux non-atteints peuvent persister. La relation proche-orthophoniste serait donc principalement axée sur le rôle d’aidant que joue le proche, et ce, en raison de leur expérience respective. Un agrandissement du territoire de rencontre entre les orthophonistes et les proches pourrait soutenir les proches dans les ajustements relationnels induits par l’AVC avec aphasie ainsi que permettre aux orthophonistes d’atteindre leurs idéaux. / The role speech-language therapy (SLT) services play in significant others’ adjustment to stroke and aphasia as well as the context in which SLTs offer interventions to significant others are currently unknown. The present dissertation aims to understand how in rehabilitation settings, relationships between SLTs and significant others of persons with aphasia develop, and fit within significant others’ process of change, on one hand, and into SLTs’ practice, on the other hand. A grounded theory approach was used in four studies to analyze interviews conducted with significant others of persons with aphasia and with SLTs. In study 1, four daughters of aphasic women were each interviewed three times over the first year post-stroke and their discourse was analyzed. A theoretical model of the daughter-mother relationship was constructed. This model shows how the daughters’ perception of maternal fragility, problems, and abilities motivated daughters to take on protective and trusting behaviors that resulted in maternal reactions of satisfaction and dissatisfaction that, in turn, reinforced the daughters’ initial perceptions. Four relational patterns may therefore coexist in a given dyad. Aphasia could make relational adjustments more complex. In study 2, three interviews conducted over the period of one year with the daughter of a woman with severe aphasia were analyzed. A theoretical model representing the experience of caregiving was elaborated. This model illustrates that for the daughter, perceiving her mother’s problems and feeling their previous relationship was threatened triggered the caregiving process. In parallel, the daughter’s recognition of her mother’s competence encouraged her to offer care aiming to make her mother happy and to foster her mother’s independence. Increases in her mother’s independence, a renewal of their relationship and adaptation to aphasia were consequences of this type of caregiving. In study 3, the interviews conducted with 12 significant others of aphasic persons were analyzed. A theoretical model representing significant others’ experience of aphasia and rehabilitation following stroke was developed and showed that significant others participated in rehabilitation as caregivers centered on the person who had aphasia. This disposition influenced their expectations of rehabilitation, their interactions with professionals, such as SLTs, and how they appraised rehabilitation. In study 4, the interviews conducted with eight SLTs working in rehabilitation settings were analyzed. A theoretical model representing SLTs’ process of working with significant others of persons with aphasia was elaborated. SLTs mostly perceived work with significant others as a challenging bonus to their fundamental approach centered on the person with aphasia. As a consequence, SLTs felt professional satisfaction while dreaming for something more to offer significant others. The relationship between significant others and SLTs thus mainly seem to focus on the caregiver role endorsed by significant others as a result of the experience of each of them. Expanding the shared territory of SLTs and significant others could support significant others’ adjustment to the relational changes induced by stroke and aphasia and could help SLTs attain their professional dreams.

The aim of this thesis is to test two hypotheses. The first one is about the nature of comprehension impairment in Broca&#039 / s aphasia, namely the Trace Deletion Hypothesis (TDH), and the other is about the similarity between child and aphasic language, namely the Regression Hypothesis. According to TDH, agrammatic patients are impaired in comprehension of certain structures that are formed by movement transformation whereas they show normal comprehension in canonical structures. TDH proposes that patients use a default strategy, which assigns the first NP the agent role. As for the Regression hypothesis, children follow a hierarchy while acquiring a language, which is also followed by aphasic patients in the reversed order. That is, what is learnt last is lost first as a result of brain damage. In order to test these two hypotheses, we designed a psycholinguistic test in which the comprehension of Turkish relative clauses is tested via sentence-picture matching task. The same test is applied to children, agrammatic patients, and normal control subjects. We expected that Broca&#039 / s patients would be impaired in their comprehension of subject relative clauses in order for TDH to be confirmed and that children would also exhibit the same impairment as the agrammatic patients in order for the Regression Hypothesis to be supported. The results we obtained were not compatible with the TDH hypothesis in that the patients did not show comprehension deficit in subject relatives but they had problems in object relative clauses, which led us to conclude that TDH did not offer a cross-linguistic explanation for the nature of comprehension deficit in agrammatism and that even if the traces were deleted, the default strategy applied in each language was a parametric feature. We propose that Turkish patients assign the agent role to the first NP that is in the pre-verbal position, which is called the pre-verbal strategy. Also, we hypothesize that the difficulty the Turkish agrammatic patients present might be due to an impairment in another feature, which is agreement morphology rather than the deletion of traces. This study is compatible with the Regression Hypothesis in that both the patients and children exhibited similar impairment in the comprehension of object relative clauses.

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior / Desde o início dos estudos lingüísticos das afasias, muito se discute a validade de se agruparem indivíduos para a realização de pesquisas. Alguns autores criticam os estudos de grupo por considerarem haver muita variação entre os indivíduos estudados, e serem os critérios utilizados para os agruparem pré-teóricos e subjetivos, visto que, geralmente, são baseados em impressões clínicas e não são lingüisticamente estruturados. Esses autores acreditam que apenas estudos de caso sejam metodologicamente adequados (Badecker e Caramazza, 1985, 1991). Em oposição, os defensores dos estudos de grupo consideram que apenas esse tipo de metodologia pode dar conta da citada variação, pois estudos de caso não permitem identificar as exceções no desempenho dos indivíduos (Caplan, 1986; Zurif, Swinney e Fodor, 1991). A despeito de todo o debate, poucos autores procuram soluções para a principal causa do desacordo citado, que pode ser considerada uma das maiores deficiências da área: a má seleção de sujeitos de pesquisa. Os critérios de seleção de pacientes comumente utilizados são teoricamente ultrapassados, podendo mesmo variar dependendo dos objetivos de cada pesquisador (Caplan, 1995). A presente dissertação tem como objetivo demonstrar a necessidade de se reverem esses critérios. Por meio de uma pesquisa realizada com quatro afásicos de Broca selecionados pelos critérios clássicos, procuramos demonstrar como a má seleção de pacientes pode prejudicar o desenvolvimento da área por tornar tendenciosos tanto estudos de caso quanto de grupo, aumentando a falta de consenso teórico entre os autores. Para tal, os pacientes foram submetidos a dois experimentos que investigavam seus desempenhos na compreensão de sentenças ativas, passivas e interrogativas QU, de sujeito, objeto e objeto in situ. Ainda, foi realizada uma avaliação desses pacientes sem que se assumissem tais critérios de classificação, partindo-se de uma caracterização lingüística inicial obtida a partir dos resultados nas sentenças ativas e passivas, ficando esta análise isenta dos problemas de seleção de pacientes comuns tanto aos estudos de caso quanto aos estudos de grupo. Como resultado, observou-se que a utilização de uma forma diferente de análise dos desempenhos pode informar a respeito do déficit, bem como sobre a organização do sistema lingüístico, sem a necessidade de se vincular a uma metodologia de caso ou de grupo no sentido tradicional / Since the beginning of linguistic aphasiology studies, the validity of grouping aphasics for research purposes has been widely debated. Some authors criticize group studies because they believe there is too much variation among individuals performance and consider the criteria used for grouping patients together to be subjective and pre-theoretical, since those are usually defined by clinical impressions and are not linguistically grounded. Under these assumptions they judge the case studies to be the only adequate methodology (Badecker e Caramazza, 1985, 1991). On the opposite direction, there are some authors who support group studies as they believe that solely this methodology could account for the variation, which would be impossible on case studies, in which the identification of exceptionalities on individuals performance is unattainable (Caplan, 1986; Zurif, Swinney e Fodor, 1991). In spite of this debate, there are only a few authors who actually look for solutions to the main cause of the conflict, which may also be considered as one of the major flaws in this field of study. The criteria of patients selection commonly applied in the studies are theoretically antiquated and can even vary depending on each authors objectives (Caplan, 1995). The goal of this dissertation is to demonstrate the need for a reevaluation of these criteria. With this intention in mind, we undertook an investigation of four (traditionally classified) Brocas aphasics comprehension on two experimental tasks which measured their performance on active and passive sentences, as well as in subject, object and in situ object WH questions. The results of these experiments allowed us to demonstrate how a problematic patients selection hinders the development of this field of study, as it makes both case and group studies biased, increasing the theoretical disagreements among the authors. Thus, conversely to what is generally done, we carried out an evaluation of the patients performances without assuming those problematic, pre-established classification criteria, which relieves our work from the problems found on case or group studies, since we assumed an initial linguistic characterization of the patients, considering their results on active and passive sentences, instead of the clinical one. As a result, we noticed that through this different way of analyzing patients performance it is possible to get information concerning the deficit and the organization of the linguistic system, without needing to be compromised with case or group views in a traditional way

A presente proposta dá continuidade à agenda de pesquisas que vêm sendo desenvolvidas pela autora e por outros pesquisadores vinculados ao Grupo de Pesquisa em Ciências da Linguagem concernente aos fenômenos linguísticos e psíquicos envolvidos na afasia. A afasia tem como ponto de partida um problema de ordem neurológica. Seu estudo começou no campo da neurologia, cuja compreensão considerava apenas os aspectos orgânicos. Mas, a partir dos trabalhos de Freud e, em seguida, o de Jakobson, o estudo da afasia é expandido para outros campos, passando a ser considerado não somente os aspectos orgânicos como psíquicos e linguísticos. As posições desses autores norteiam a presente pesquisa. Assim, a afasia é entendida como um distúrbio no funcionamento da linguagem, que envolve fatores de ordem linguística e subjetiva. Em decorrência, o afásico sofre, em geral, de desânimo, sendo comum a depressão, o que compromete o tratamento. A relação com a família também é muito afetada, no entanto, essa relação é fundamental para o seu restabelecimento. A presente pesquisa visa a investigar a interação entre afásicos, afásicos e sua família, pertencentes ao Grupo de Convivência da Universidade Católica de Pernambuco, observando as dificuldades de linguagem bem como suas repercussões nessa interação, além de analisar a circulação da palavra entre os afásicos no Grupo de Convivência; como também investigar quando dirigem e como acolhem a palavra de familiares e, finalmente, investigar incidências subjetivas advindas das dificuldades de linguagem. A metodologia deste trabalho utiliza a linha de pesquisa qualitativa, que consiste de nove estudos de casos. Tal análise permitiu identificar a qualidade da interação linguística estabelecida entre afásicos, do Grupo de Convivência da Universidade Católica de Pernambuco, observando as dificuldades de linguagem e como essas dificuldades incidem sobre sua objetividade, constituindo-se como um fardo que, ao mesmo tempo, paralisa-os e isola-os como consequência da impossibilidade de exercer a linguagem. Também foi possível analisar como essas dificuldades modificam os laços dos afásicos com seus familiares / This proposal continues the research agenda beeing developed by the author and other researchers to the Group for Research in Language Sciences regarding the linguistic and psychological phenomena involved in aphasia. Aphasia is part of a neurological problem. Its study has begun in neurology field whose understanding of considered only the organic aspects. From Freud, then, by Jakobson the study of aphasia expend to other fields and it is now considered not only in its organic aspects but also psychological and linguistic. The position of theses authors guides the present research. Thus, aphasia is seen as a disturbance in the functioning of language, involving linguistic and subject factories. As a result, the aphasic one suffers from discouragement and depression, which affects the treatment. The relationship with the family also goes only greatly affected, but this relationship is critical to its reestablishment. This research aims to investigate the interaction between aphasic ones, and aphasic ones and his family, belonging to the group of living of the Catholic University of Pernambuco. The language difficulties are observed as well as its repercussions in theseinteration, besides analyzing the circulation the word among the aphasic group. Coexistence and to investigate when they drive and how welcome the word of relatives and, finally to investigate incidents stemming from subjective difficulties languages. The methodology of this work uses the line of qualitative research which consists of nine case studies. The analysis identified the linguistic quality of interaction established among aphasic ones Group Living in the Catholic University of Pernambuco, noting the difficulties of language and how those difficulties affect his objectivity on, becoming a burden, while freezes them and isolates them as a consequence of the impossibility of exercising the language. It was possible to analyze how these modify the difficulties of aphasic ones with their families

A afasia é considerada uma redução e disfunção do uso da linguagem, em que há alteração de mecanismos linguísticos em todos os níveis, manifestando-se tanto no aspecto expressivo quanto no receptivo da linguagem oral e/ou escrita. Diante dessas características, o discurso dos sujeitos afásicos é objeto de estudo particularmente no que concerne os elementos prosódicos e entoacionais neles presentes. O pressuposto utilizado neste trabalho é de que as escolhas tonais, que vão sendo feitas ao longo da interação, são responsáveis pela construção de um contexto, e as opções de proeminências tonais vão construindo o sentido do texto simultaneamente. O contexto interativo sugere o reconhecimento de que o comportamento prosódico do falante constrói um contorno entoacional significativo, sendo interpretado pelo ouvinte como constitutivo de um conteúdo informacional, mas, ao mesmo tempo, pode veicular pistas com relação às marcas de interatividade, ao manter a proximidade/distanciamento entre os interlocutores, associadas a padrões típicos (referring tones) de referência ao conhecimento prévio partilhado ou a informações novas (proclaiming tones). Este trabalho procurou identificar os padrões entoacionais e outros recursos prosódicos presentes na organização oral de sujeitos participantes do grupo de Convivência para Afásicos. A partir disso, foram observados quais os recursos prosódicos mais recorrentes, a utilização de outros recursos linguísticos e o papel das pistas entoacionais para a constituição do sentido. Para alcançar o objetivo proposto, foram realizadas oficinas de leitura com seis sujeitos afásicos, de ambos os gêneros, que participam e frequentam regularmente o Grupo de Convivência para Afásicos, da Universidade Católica de Pernambuco, durante quatro encontros. Os estudos para o tema apresentado fundamentaram-se em pesquisas sobre a organização do discurso oral do afásico, destacando a relação prosódica, a partir da perspectiva de Brazil (1985). Conclui-se que, ao longo do processo interacional, a prosódia esteve frequente na construção do discurso dos sujeitos analisados nesta pesquisa, que recorreram, constantemente, a recursos paralinguísticos e ao tom proclamador, o mais recorrente, que funciona como pista entoacional e está relacionado ao conhecimento novo. A relevância do trabalho está em pensar o sujeito afásico como produtor de um discurso que recorre a recursos paralinguísticos e prosódicos para compreender e se fazer compreendido / Aphasia is considered a reduction and dysfunction of the use of language in which there is a change of language mechanisms at all levels, manifesting itself in both productive and receptive aspects of oral language and/or writing. Facing these characteristics, the speech of aphasics became our object of study by focusing on the prosodic elements and intonation patterns present in them. The assumption used in this work is that the tonal choices, which are being made along the interaction, are responsible for the construction of a context, and the tonal prominence options will build the sense of the text simultaneously. The interactive context suggests the recognition that the behavior of prosodic behaviour constructs a significant intonation outline, being interpreted by the listener as incorporation of an informational content, but at the same time can provide clues regarding interactivity marks, while keeping the proximity/distance between the interlocutors, associated with typical patterns (referring tones) in reference to the prior knowledge shared or new information (proclaiming tones). This work sought to identify intonation patterns and other prosodic resources domains present in the oral organization of the subjects participation in the Conviviality Group for Aphasics. Aware of this, we observed recurring prosodic elements, the use of other linguistic resources and the role of intonation tracks for the constitution of meaning. To achieve the proposed objective, reading workshops were held with six aphasic subjects, of both genders, who participated and attended regularly the Conviviality Group for Aphasics, Catholic University of Pernambuco, during four meetings. The studies on the theme presented grounded the research on the organization of oral speech of aphasics, highlighting the prosodic relationship, from the perspective of Brazil (1985). It is concluded that, over the interactional process, prosody was common in the construction of speech of the analyzed subjects in this research, who constantly resorted to paralinguistic resources and proclamation tone, the most recurrent function, which serves as an intonation trace and is related to the new knowledge. The relevance of the work lies in thinking of the aphasic subject as producer of a speech that makes use of paralinguistic resources and prosodic patterns to understand and be understood

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior / Desde o início dos estudos lingüísticos das afasias, muito se discute a validade de se agruparem indivíduos para a realização de pesquisas. Alguns autores criticam os estudos de grupo por considerarem haver muita variação entre os indivíduos estudados, e serem os critérios utilizados para os agruparem pré-teóricos e subjetivos, visto que, geralmente, são baseados em impressões clínicas e não são lingüisticamente estruturados. Esses autores acreditam que apenas estudos de caso sejam metodologicamente adequados (Badecker e Caramazza, 1985, 1991). Em oposição, os defensores dos estudos de grupo consideram que apenas esse tipo de metodologia pode dar conta da citada variação, pois estudos de caso não permitem identificar as exceções no desempenho dos indivíduos (Caplan, 1986; Zurif, Swinney e Fodor, 1991). A despeito de todo o debate, poucos autores procuram soluções para a principal causa do desacordo citado, que pode ser considerada uma das maiores deficiências da área: a má seleção de sujeitos de pesquisa. Os critérios de seleção de pacientes comumente utilizados são teoricamente ultrapassados, podendo mesmo variar dependendo dos objetivos de cada pesquisador (Caplan, 1995). A presente dissertação tem como objetivo demonstrar a necessidade de se reverem esses critérios. Por meio de uma pesquisa realizada com quatro afásicos de Broca selecionados pelos critérios clássicos, procuramos demonstrar como a má seleção de pacientes pode prejudicar o desenvolvimento da área por tornar tendenciosos tanto estudos de caso quanto de grupo, aumentando a falta de consenso teórico entre os autores. Para tal, os pacientes foram submetidos a dois experimentos que investigavam seus desempenhos na compreensão de sentenças ativas, passivas e interrogativas QU, de sujeito, objeto e objeto in situ. Ainda, foi realizada uma avaliação desses pacientes sem que se assumissem tais critérios de classificação, partindo-se de uma caracterização lingüística inicial obtida a partir dos resultados nas sentenças ativas e passivas, ficando esta análise isenta dos problemas de seleção de pacientes comuns tanto aos estudos de caso quanto aos estudos de grupo. Como resultado, observou-se que a utilização de uma forma diferente de análise dos desempenhos pode informar a respeito do déficit, bem como sobre a organização do sistema lingüístico, sem a necessidade de se vincular a uma metodologia de caso ou de grupo no sentido tradicional / Since the beginning of linguistic aphasiology studies, the validity of grouping aphasics for research purposes has been widely debated. Some authors criticize group studies because they believe there is too much variation among individuals performance and consider the criteria used for grouping patients together to be subjective and pre-theoretical, since those are usually defined by clinical impressions and are not linguistically grounded. Under these assumptions they judge the case studies to be the only adequate methodology (Badecker e Caramazza, 1985, 1991). On the opposite direction, there are some authors who support group studies as they believe that solely this methodology could account for the variation, which would be impossible on case studies, in which the identification of exceptionalities on individuals performance is unattainable (Caplan, 1986; Zurif, Swinney e Fodor, 1991). In spite of this debate, there are only a few authors who actually look for solutions to the main cause of the conflict, which may also be considered as one of the major flaws in this field of study. The criteria of patients selection commonly applied in the studies are theoretically antiquated and can even vary depending on each authors objectives (Caplan, 1995). The goal of this dissertation is to demonstrate the need for a reevaluation of these criteria. With this intention in mind, we undertook an investigation of four (traditionally classified) Brocas aphasics comprehension on two experimental tasks which measured their performance on active and passive sentences, as well as in subject, object and in situ object WH questions. The results of these experiments allowed us to demonstrate how a problematic patients selection hinders the development of this field of study, as it makes both case and group studies biased, increasing the theoretical disagreements among the authors. Thus, conversely to what is generally done, we carried out an evaluation of the patients performances without assuming those problematic, pre-established classification criteria, which relieves our work from the problems found on case or group studies, since we assumed an initial linguistic characterization of the patients, considering their results on active and passive sentences, instead of the clinical one. As a result, we noticed that through this different way of analyzing patients performance it is possible to get information concerning the deficit and the organization of the linguistic system, without needing to be compromised with case or group views in a traditional way

Esta tese de doutorado demonstra a importância e atualidade do livro Sobre a concepção das afasias um estudo crítico, escrito por Sigmund Freud no ano de 1891. A tese mostra que o livro é uma obra fundadora da psicanálise, que fomentou debates realizados em âmbito acadêmico no Brasil, na interface tradução e psicanálise. Para fazê-lo, foram eleitos cinco conceitos-chave da psicanálise que tiveram seus usos inaugurados no livro e, a partir deles, foi ilustrada sua influência em cinco teses de doutorado defendidas no Brasil sobre esse tema. Assim sendo, a tese visa a restituir a esta obra freudiana, ainda pouco conhecida, seu lugar de direito no universo da psicanálise e nos Estudo da Tradução e, por isso, apresenta uma proposta de tradução feita diretamente do alemão para o português. / This PhD thesis shows the contemporary importance of the Freudian book On Aphasia a critical study, written by Sigmund Freud in 1891. It reveals that this book represents a fundamental psychoanalytical work that has instigate several debates within the Brazilian academic field in the interface between translation and psychoanalysis. Therefore five psychoanalytical concepts that have been first presented on it were chosen to argue their influence upon five Brazilian PhD theses dealing with the same issue. This work aimed to restitute to the Freudian book its deserved place in both the psychoanalytical realm and the Translation Studies. On that ground, it proposed a translation composed straight from the German language into Portuguese.