A Chicago university has suggested that a degenerative condition that affects language is linked with learning disabilities.
Scientists at Northwestern University found that people who suffer with primary progressive aphasia, a neurodegenerative condition affecting language, are more likely to have had a history of learning disabilities. People who have the condition experience deterioration in their language capabilities as they get older. The signs of aphasia include struggling to speak expressively, trouble understanding speech, and difficulty with writing and reading. In the report, the scientists state: "This relationship may exist in only a small subgroup of persons with dyslexia without necessarily implying that the entire population with dyslexia or their family members are at higher risk of primary progressive aphasia." The effects of aphasia differ depending on the individual and the symptoms can sometimes be eased by working with a speech therapist. Northwestern University's study has been published in the February edition of Archives of Neurology.
