THE CAREER SUCCESS OF AN ADULT WITH A LEARNING-DISABILITY - A PSYCHOSOCIAL STUDY OF AMNESIC SEMANTIC APHASIA

B. I. is a 39-year-old, intellectually gifted (IQ = 130) man with lear ning disabilities who, without known cause, demonstrated symptoms of a mnesic-semantic aphasia at age 13. This led to placement in a public s chool class for students with mild mental retardation and to his dropp ing our of school offer repeating Grade 9. His aphasia is associated w ith a severe deficit in speech comprehension, poor reading and writing , spatial confusion, and episodic memory loss. We studied the remarkab le behavioral and cognitive adjustments that have enabled him to lead a fulfilling life and become a highly successful business executive. I mplications are discussed in the context of patterns of successful fun ctioning and current views of the neuropsychological and neurological bases of such disorders.