We reported a right-handed woman in her fifties who showed repetitive speech and omission of postposition-al particles and ends of words and sentences after right putaminal hemorrhage.
Since she showed repetition of words and syllables at the same ratio, we diagnosed palilalia with acquired stuttering. We gave her speech therapy using the mora-by-mora method with finger-counting gestures, which was effective in decreasing both her palilalia and omission phenomenon but only temporarily effective in decreasing her acquired stuttering.
We discussed the following three points :
(1) Her repetitive speech might have been caused by diffuse dysfunction of the entire right hemisphere including the frontal lobe. This might have caused a breakdown of the inhibitory mechanisms of speech and/or deficits in coordination of speech movements that may be achieved through integration of both hemispheres.
(2) Omission phenomenon might be related to her severe attentional disorders and impatience in performing actions(impediment in pacing).
(3) Indifference to her speech disorders might contribute to her repetitive speech and omission phenomenon.
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