Aphasia is the medical term for difficulty using language (speaking, reading, writing or understanding) after a neurological (brain) injury. It is most common after a stroke but can occur after many different types of traumas and disease processes. You may know of Bruce Willis being diagnosed recently with aphasia – an aphasia that results from a type of dementia. Approximately 30% of stroke survivors will have aphasia. It can be short term and recover completely but it can also be a life long condition. In general, people with chronic aphasia can find life difficult as communication is essential for relationships, work and well being. Some people will have significant aphasia (often labelled ‘severe’) or more mild aphasia (sometimes labelled ‘high level’). A speech pathologist assesses and treats aphasia and it’s impact on daily life.
Broadly, expressive language (speaking and writing) and/or receptive language (understanding and reading) may be affected. The most common symptom of aphasia is word finding difficulty. That means, struggling to say the right word at the right time. Some people have word finding difficulties that disrupt the flow of their talking and ability to say sentences (called non-fluent aphasia or Broca's aphasia). Sometimes an alternative related word might be said such as saying ‘dog’ instead of ‘cat’ (semantic error). Sometimes a person with aphasia may select the right word but say it with incorrect articulation such as ‘tat’ instead of ‘cat’ (phonemic error). People with a different sort of aphasia (fluent aphasia or Wernicke's aphasia) still have word finding difficulties but tend to say nonsense words (neologisms) and don’t have problems with sentence construction or grammar. Non fluent aphasia is more common than fluent aphasia.
There are many other types of aphasia and various classification systems. Overall, the type of aphasia and the symptoms that arise are determined by the areas of that person’s unique brain that are damaged. Each person’s aphasia is unique – presenting with an individual profile of strengths and difficulties. At The Speech Rehab Centre we assess the individual characteristics of a person with aphasia and develop a tailored evidence based treatment plan to address these.
In future posts we will be commenting on support, recovery and treatment for aphasia.
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