Perspectives on functional writing following acquired brain impairment

Abstract

The aim of this paper is to examine different theoretical perspectives on written language and writing disorder accompanying acquired brain impairment. Writing is viewed as a sociocultural practice that provides an alternative for social/linguistic interaction not met by spoken communication, and fulfils different social and personal needs at different stages of a person's life. Consequently, loss or interrupted development of written language is significant for individuals of any age, yet management of writing impairment is not a priority in speech – language pathology practice. While writing impairment has historically been reported in association with aphasia and cognitive-language impairment, very little research has examined its nature and impact. Reasons for this dearth of knowledge are examined together with three theoretical perspectives that have been utilized in research to date. The need for further research within a sociocultural framework is discussed.

• Aphasia
• functional writing disorder
• psycholinguistic
• sociolinguistic
• ethnographic