
clinical features of the alalies (russian).
the term 'alalies' is applied to the various
states of absence or insufficient development
of speech in children, resulting
from defective development or affections
of the speech centers before the development
of speech.  from the clinical
study it is possible to distinguish between several
forms: motor, sensory, and
semantic alaly with signs of amnesia.  the
causes are multiple: trauma, perinatal
cerebral hemorrhage, inflammatory processes,
metabolic disorders before the
development of speech, and alimentary and
trophic disorders.  the alalies show
varying degrees of severity.  in most children
suffering from alaly, neurological
signs can be demonstrated on the right side,
an indication of the organic nature of
the condition.  the presence of local symptoms
in the various forms of alaly is
often associated with signs indicating involvement
of adjacent regions of the cerebral
hemispheres in the pathological process
which would explain why the alalies
are often complex.  the character of the alalies
depends on functional disorders
resulting from the lesion in the frontal, anterior,
motor, temporal or parietal
region of the dominant cerebral hemisphere.
patients with alaly often show neurotic
reactions, resulting from the disorders
of the processes of inhibition and excitation
of the cerebral cortex and the subcortical
formations.  early treatment of
the alalies with drugs combined with logopedic
and pedagogic measures gives good results.
