Aphasia

Aphasia is a disorder that makes it hard for a person to understand and use communication. People who are suffering from aphasia may be able to talk but struggle to come up with the correct words or explain what they are trying to say. They may also have a hard time following a conversation, identifying letters, identifying numbers and reading and comprehending words.

Aphasia is caused by trauma or damage to the brain. A stroke or other type of brain injury could cause this. Up to 40% of people who have had a stroke suffer from Aphasia. Other causes of Aphasia include a tumor on the brain, an infection in the brain, or dementia. It can also be a side effect of other serious conditions like epilepsy. Cases of aphasia can vary from a mild form of the disease to more severe versions of the disease.

There are different types of Aphasia. Expressive aphasia applies to both spoken and written word. A person suffering from expressive aphasia is not able to communicate what they want to say. Receptive aphasia cannot make meaning out written and spoken language. They can hear the noise when someone talks to them or can see the words that are written, but they cannot put the information together to make sense of it. Those suffering with anomic aphasia struggle to find the correct word when they are communicating whether speaking or writing. Global aphasia usually happens after a person has a stroke. It is the most severe form of aphasia and prevents people from being able to speak, read, write, or understand what is being said to him/her. Finally, primary progressive aphasia is a rare form of the disorder. This type of aphasia causes a person to slowly lose their ability to communicate verbally but he/she may be able to communicate in other ways like gesturing.