LEGISLATIVE RESOLUTION memorializing Governor Andrew M. Cuomo to
proclaim June 2014 as Aphasia Awareness Month in the State of New York

WHEREAS, It is the custom of this Legislative Body to recognize official
months that are set aside to increase awareness of serious issues that
affect the lives of citizens of New York State; and
WHEREAS, Attendant to such concern, and fully in accord with its long-
standing traditions, this Legislative Body is justly proud to memorial-
ize Governor Andrew M. Cuomo to proclaim June 2014 as Aphasia Awareness
Month in the State of New York, in conjunction with National Aphasia
Awareness Month; and
WHEREAS, Aphasia is an impairment of language affecting the production
or comprehension of speech and the ability to read or write; it is
always due to injury to the brain, most commonly from a stroke, partic-
ularly in older individuals; brain injuries resulting in aphasia may
also arise from head trauma, brain tumors, or infections; and
WHEREAS, A spectrum disorder, Aphasia can be so severe as to make
communication with an individual almost impossible, or it can be very
mild; it may affect mainly a single aspect of language use, such as the
ability to retrieve the names of objects, the ability to put words
together into sentences, or the ability to read; and
WHEREAS, More commonly in Aphasia, however, multiple aspects of commu-
nication are impaired, while some channels remain accessible for a
limited exchange of information; it is the job of the professional to
determine the amount of function available in each of the channels for
the comprehension of language, and to assess the possibility that treat-
ment might enhance the use of the channels that are available; and
WHEREAS, Over a century of experience with the study of Aphasia it has
become evident that particular components of language may be particular-
ly damaged in some individuals; we have also learned to recognize
different types or patterns of Aphasia which correspond to the location
of the brain injury in the individual case; and
WHEREAS, Global Aphasia is the most severe form of Aphasia, and is
applied to individuals who can produce few recognizable words and under-
stand little or no spoken language; persons with Global Aphasia can
neither read nor write, and it may often be seen immediately after
having suffered from a stroke; with greater brain damage, severe and
lasting disability may result; and
WHEREAS, Broca's Aphasia, also referred to as non-fluent Aphasia, is a
form of Aphasia in which speech output is severely reduced and limited
mainly to short utterances of less than four words; vocabulary access is
limited and the formation of sounds by persons with Broca's Aphasia is
often laborious and clumsy; Broca's Aphasia is often referred to as a
non-fluent Aphasia because of the halting and effortful quality of
speech; and
WHEREAS, Mixed non-fluent Aphasia is applied to individuals who have
sparse and effortful speech, resembling severe Broca's Aphasia; however,
unlike persons with Broca's Aphasia, they remain limited in their
comprehension of speech and do not read or write beyond an elementary
level; and
WHEREAS, In Wernicke's Aphasia, or fluent Aphasia, the ability to
grasp the meaning of spoken words is chiefly impaired, while the ease of
producing connected speech is not much affected; reading and writing are
often severely impaired; and
WHEREAS, Anomic Aphasia is applied to persons who are left with a
persistent inability to supply the words for the very things they want
to talk about, particularly the significant nouns and verbs; subsequent-

ly, speech, while fluent in grammatical form and output, is full of
vague circumlocutions and expressions of frustration; and
WHEREAS, In addition to the foregoing syndromes that are seen repeat-
edly by speech clinicians, there are many other possible combinations of
deficits that do not exactly fit into these aforementioned categories;
and
WHEREAS, Furthermore, some of the components of a Complex Aphasia
Syndrome may also occur in isolation; this may also be the case for
disorders of reading (alexia) or disorders affecting both reading and
writing (alexia and agraphia), following a stroke; severe impairments of
calculation often accompany Aphasia, yet in some instances patients
retain excellent calculation in spite of the loss of language; and
WHEREAS, It is imperative that there be greater public awareness of
this serious health issue, and more must be done to increase activity at
the local, State and National levels; now, therefore, be it
RESOLVED, That this Legislative Body pause in its deliberations to
memorialize Governor Andrew M. Cuomo to proclaim June 2014 as Aphasia
Awareness Month in the State of New York, in conjunction with National
Aphasia Awareness Month; and be it further
RESOLVED, That a copy of this Resolution, suitably engrossed, be tran-
smitted to The Honorable Andrew M. Cuomo, Governor of the State of New
York.