when sign language users become aphasic

[paintedfairy]

I can;t remember who it was that asked me about effects of stroke on signing, but I found an answer today. According to William Orr Dingwall, reporting Poizner, Klima and Bellugi (1987

Comments

[barakta]

Cool.

heteronormative has set up a BSL comunity I think it's bsl_qna basically BSL Questions and Answers. Go join :)

Natalya

[earwigmc]

maybe my brain, but that didn't make sense to me - they're saying that language is particulalry happening in the left-hemisphere for signers, then saying that if the right-hemisphere is intact signing will be okay...? the last sentence goes with the first, but where/how does the middle one fit? unless they're saying they'd expect signing would be okay if right-hemi was intact, but that the expectations aren't borne out...?

[paintedfairy]

Language function is mainly concentrated in the left for the majority of communicators, but there are many aspects in the right hemi, e.g. visual scanning, and other motor movements.

The middle sentence is saying that there might be an expectation that left hemisphere function is less important for signers, (due to many motor functions being in the right hemi) but in fact it is just as important as for oral communicators.

Is that any clearer? Shout if not....

[earwigmc]

so they're being kinda surprised that the left hemisphere is important to users of sign language too?

or surprised that the right hemisphere isn't as important as they thought?

[paintedfairy]

yes, I think theyre being surprised that the left hemisphere is equally important to signers as for oral language users. Its only quite recently that "language" which is what is being talked about here, has been discussed separately to "speech". This author/the research findings are recognising that signers have similar localisation of their cognitive function for language as "speakers".

I'm not sure why this should come as a surprise to them though...