Language is the key to knowledge
Written on 4th Apr 2013 by Sylvia Lowery
Sylvia Lowery
This article is adapted from a blog post that I wrote on Tuesday the 14th December 2010, Alex’s father had suffered a stroke to his left temporal lobe just weeks before. It gives some thoughts on the difficulties experienced by those who struggle to use language.
John doing Audiblocks which is a brain training programme that we had previously used with Alex.
‘Language is the key to knowledge.’ This is a statement I first came across as a student Nursery Nurse. Over the years I have wondered if this is a true statement.
Is language really the key to knowledge?
What is it like to live without language?
Alex our third child has autism and his language was delayed, I have asked him if he remembers life before he really understood language, he says that he used to understand everything in pictures, his memories are in pictures yet he can give words to those pictures now.
John, Alex’s father has always been a language based person.He remembers everything in the form of language. This meant that when he had the stroke he lost an awful lot of information. He felt lost to everyone and everything.
I am a very visual person, I will often have an image of a page of a book in my head when I want to remember something.John losing his language has given me rich insights into how important language is to knowledge. Suddenly I can see how language bridges the gap between knowledge, understanding and learning.
Language helps us to develop and maintain a sense of identity. Without language we can find it difficult to feel as though we belong. I am not just talking about people who understand all language but cannot use language, rather I am thinking of those who struggle to understand and use language.
As John has begun to recover some of his language it has become clear that most of his knowledge is still in his brain,but he has needed the key of language to unlock that knowledge. One of the ways in which I have helped John to retrieve that knowledge was to ask him a question and wait as long as it took for him to find the answer. This helped his brain to make new neural pathways.
In a similar way it is important to take the time to wait for individuals with autism to communicate with us. No matter how that happens. It may involve using pictures or simple signs or retrieving the words. However it happens we must be patient and take the time to listen and wait.
John speaks about the gift of language, he says he realises how much he has taken that gift for granted.
Today two years later John is back at work as a finance director. He does still experience difficulties with language, this is mainly when he is in an emotional situation, is tired or is experiencing low blood sugar which is due to him having diabetes.
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