Abstract
A boy with a problem of delayed speech and language development was seen at the age of 3 years and 7 months. Three years after his first visit, he was diagnosed as having developmental receptive aphasia. This diagnosis was based on the following findings: (1) He did not show any motor disabilities. (2) His mental ability was near normal. (3) He could not follow oral directions but could follow directions with gestures. (4) His hearing level was normal on the audiometer. However, he could not distinguish words auditorily though he could easily identify the same words with Japanese characters. (5) He did not use any gestures or symbolic play. (6) His language and speech delay was severe, which was not commensurate with his general functional level. Language therapy using visual materials was effective to some extent. Now he is 8 years and 9 months old and can understand written words, phrases and simple sentences, but shows no improvement in expressive language.
