Abstract
Communication behavior of the case that presents total aphasia caused by cerebral hemorrhage was described from the following viewpoint. 1) Contexts of communication : The context based on environment around the patient such as some persons that interact with the patient, the life space of the patient and the life styles (called “external context” ). The context primarily based on physical and/or emotional conditions are called “internal context” . It is hypothesized that an internal context may be formed by the interactions with an external context. 2) Message : Messages are classified into the next three. First, it is such message that maintains and continues the relation between the partisipants (interactive). Second, messages convey the intention or desire etc. of a sender (communicative). And, situation is changed by this sort of messages. Third, there are such messages that convey the feeling, experience or knowledge of a sender (informative). 3) Means of communication : The most primitive means are the body expressions such as posture or tension, and the emotional expressions such as crying, laughing or phonation. It is the sensory-motor means to contact a person and to operate a thing. Facial expressions and variable utterances may be also included. Indications —presenting or pointing— are other means of communication. A most useful and most effective means are language.
Our patient, a 48-years old woman, was able to maintain interactive only with a particular person. She was always based on an internal context —physical and emotional condition. It was difficult for her to take an external context in to her internal context. So, she often fell into a panic in the communication with unfamiliar persons. She repeated vomiting when she was brought to unknown places. This suggests that the means of her communication are on physical-emotional level. This is a ditailed report of the course of her communication behavior.
