Quote:
Originally Posted by OpheliaSpeaks
Hi all,
I am a research assistant at my university and the psychologist I work under presented an interesting theory that I would like to explore in research paper for my ASL 4 class.
Because traumas are stored in the occipital lobe and are very visual/iconic, processing them using spoken language requires that the memories be brought forward to the frontal cortex first. What if the language you use is a visual language? (ASL/other signed language) Is the recovery rate different for those who are processing trauma visually because their primary language is visual? What if a hearing person uses ASL or a signed language to process trauma?
Any thoughts/feedback would be greatly appreciated. I grew up hearing till now, but started learning ASL when I was 11 years old. I have often found myself that I prefer signing when dealing with personal, difficult topics, but part of that may be because I don't like to "hear" what I am thinking aloud.
 in advance! |
If I am reading your question properly, it would depend upon which area of the brain was traumatized. For instance, traumatic brain injury from stroke that results in Wenike's aphasia does not interfere with the processing of visual language. However, if the trauma was to a part of the brain that affected long term memory as a whole, and one used oral language, then word recall would no doubt be affected, and if one used sign, sign recall for the concept would be affected.
People often find it easier to express personal difficult topics using physical communications. Just watch someone who is talking about a difficult topic that is very emotional for them. They will use more hand gestures, will shift around in their seat, and kick their foot or jiggle their leg. Some of that is because an emotional topic creates anxiety, and physical activity will help to relieve that anxiety. Another reason is that kinesthetic communication tools add emphasis to spoken language, and body language conveys meaning to words. Hope that is what you were looking for.