Adaptation of Mississippi Aphasia Screening Test to Telugu Language

Brain damage results in language difficulties known as Aphasia, caused due to stroke, cerebral injury or tumors. Most of these persons may not be cooperative for lengthy aphasia test batteries, hence there is a need to develop a screening tool. Mississippi Aphasia Screening Test is one such instrument developed by Nakase-Thompson (2005). Very few aphasia screening tests have been developed in the Indian context and none for Telugu, a language spoken in the south of India. Mississippi Aphasia Screening Test - Telugu (MAST ¿T), was adapted and developed as part of the dissertation work of the second author. It was found to have good reliability and validity measures. Hence, it has the potential for becoming a necessary screening tool for the detection of aphasia in Telugu speaking persons with aphasia.