Aphasia is a language disorder that makes it hard to read, write and say what you mean, and sometimes to understand what others say. It is not a disease but a symptom of damage to the parts of the brain that control language, and its signs depend on which part was damaged.
Four main types
| Type | What happens |
|---|---|
| Expressive | You know what you want to say but struggle to say or write it |
| Receptive | You hear speech or see words but struggle to make sense of them |
| Global | Almost all language ability is lost: speaking, understanding, reading and writing |
| Anomic | You struggle to find the right words for particular things, people, places or events |
Aphasia sometimes improves on its own, but it can be long-lasting. There is no cure, though treatment may improve language skills.
Causes
Aphasia follows damage to one or more language areas of the brain, from:
- stroke, the most common cause;
- a brain tumor;
- brain infection or inflammation;
- brain injury;
- progressive brain disorders, such as dementia.
Anyone can develop it at any age, but most people with aphasia are middle-aged or older. It usually starts suddenly, after a stroke or brain injury; from a tumor or progressive disorder it may develop slowly.
Diagnosis
A provider who sees signs of aphasia will usually:
- test how well the person understands language and speech, asking questions and checking whether they can follow simple commands;
- order an MRI or CT scan to look for brain injury and see which part is damaged.
If the scan shows signs of aphasia, further tests — usually by a speech-language pathologist — measure how much the damage affects talking, reading, writing and understanding.
Treatment
Some people recover fully without treatment, but most should start speech-language therapy as soon as possible, one-on-one, in a group or by computer. Depending on the kind of language loss, it may include reading, writing, following directions and repeating the therapist's words, and learning to communicate through gestures, pictures, smartphones or other devices.
Family can help, by using simpler language, including the person in conversations, and repeating or writing down key words.
How far someone recovers depends on the cause, which part of the brain was hurt, how badly and how much, and the person's age and health.
Prevention
- Protect your heart and blood vessels with healthy habits, lowering the risk of stroke, heart disease and vascular disease.
- Protect your brain from injury: wear the right helmet for sports such as cycling, take steps to prevent falls, always wear a seatbelt and drive safely.
Sources
Based on the MedlinePlus health topic "Aphasia," National Library of Medicine, with a summary from NIH's National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders; a work of the United States government in the public domain.
이용 허락: CC0 1.0 (퍼블릭 도메인) · 출처 medlineplus.gov
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