The Relationship Between Oral Spelling and Phonological Breakdown in a Conduction Aphasic

Unsolicited oral spelling has been observed in conduction aphasics during word-production difficulty (Kohn, 1985), but has never been examined systematically. In the present study, the possible role of oral spelling in the word-production process of a conduction aphasic (JM) is explored. Oral spelling occurred much more frequently during picture naming than during either oral reading or repetition, and it seemed to be operating as a strategy to lessen the phonemic output deficit often observed in this syndrome.