Glossary

A brace used to prevent/control foot drop during swing phase of gait in patients with hemiparesis following stroke, spinal cord injury or brain injury

A language disorder that results in impairment in the comprehension and/or formulation of language and can affect both the spoken and written modalities. Aphasia is usually acquired as a result of stroke, brain injury or brain tumor. It can be classified into several types commonly referred to as expressive, receptive, and global aphasia.

Primary deficits relate to comprehension of language

Primary deficits relate to formulation of language

Both comprehension and formulation of language are impaired

The inability to plan or execute a movement to function or participate in an activity

A motor speech disorder caused by disturbance in motor planning or programming of sequential movement for volitional speech production

Penetration of food or liquids into the airway below the level of the vocal folds before, during or after swallowing

The thought process combining sensory function, learning, and the ability to choose an effective response; knowing, thinking, learning and judging

Characterized by active pushing of the non-affected limb towards the affected limb, resulting in loss of postural control/balance and inability to maintain midline or upright posture.

Weakness or altered neuronal control of the muscles responsible for speech production or defective sensory feedback regarding their movement

Impairment in the ability to swallow

A functional, diagnostic test of deglutition in which a contrast dye, a flexible endoscopic catheter (inserted nasogastrically), a light source, and an air source (which is used to test sensation of the cricopharyngeal region) connected to a video camera to test and document the oropharyngeal phase of swallow reflex.

Involves the use of electrical stimulation to elicit a muscle contraction that translates into a functional activity (eg. walking or performing upper extremity task)

Vision loss (blindness) in one half of the visual field; may involve a portion of the visual field of each eye

Weakness on one half of the body

Abnormally increased muscle tone

The ability to foresee and comprehend implications of actions on circumstances; the extent to which an individual accurately judges his/her strengths and weaknesses

The Kinesio Taping Method is used for patients with neurologic conditions (CVA, SCI, TBI) to improve muscle contraction of weakened muscles, reduce muscle spasm and hypertonicity, increase ROM, and provide proprioceptive feedback and muscle re-education to involved muscle groups.

Control of movement and posture

 “Nothing by mouth”

An external appliance that supports a paralyzed muscle, promotes a certain motion, or corrects a deformity

The ability to control the body’s position in space for stability and orientation

Refers to the unconscious awareness of one’s position of joints or limbs in space

The ability to identify the sensory stimuli, where it is located, and how intense the stimuli is

A type of hypertonicity that is velocity dependent; attributed to hyperactive stretch reflexes mediated through muscles spindle stretch receptors

Unawareness of an entire area of space (usually the hemiparetic side) due to deficits in visual awareness and perception

The ability to attend visually to elements in the environment including the ability to select objects that demand attention and to focus on them appropriately

The ability to extract and organize visual information from the environment and integrate it with the information from other sensory modalities and higher cognitive functions