Aphasia — What Does That Word Mean?
Aphasia is an common and acquired communication disorder. Though it affects millions of people, many Americans have never heard of aphasia. Read on to learn more about this disorder from a speech pathologist who specializes in aphasia assessment and treatment.
What is aphasia?
Basically, aphasia is a condition that can impact all facets of communication including speaking, reading, writing, understanding, coming up with the words, organizing thoughts and following directions.
People are not born with aphasia. It is an acquired disorder usually caused by a stroke or brain injury. It can be caused by other things like a brain tumor, a neurological condition or an infection, but is typically caused by a stroke or brain injury.
It is a complicated condition and it does not discriminate. It can be found in young children, teens, adults, and older adults. It occurs in all genders, nationalities, and races and no two people with aphasia will present the same. Just as each person is unique, each person will experience aphasia differently.
Some people with aphasia will experience impacted understanding, others will experience impacted speech, and still others have found that all parts of language are impacted.
Aphasia affects about two million Americans and is more common than Parkinson’s Disease, cerebral palsy or muscular dystrophy. Nearly 180,000 Americans acquire the disorder each year. However, most people have never heard of it. — National Aphasia Association
What aphasia isn’t
Now that we have established what aphasia is, an acquired condition caused by damage to the brain, let's address what aphasia is not. Aphasia is a complicated condition but it is specific to language impairments. This is important to note as there are a lot of very unfortunate misunderstandings about aphasia and the people who suffer from it.
Aphasia is not a condition that affects intelligence. Let me say that again (ahem)
Aphasia does not affect intelligence!
It is a harmful myth that aphasia will rob people of their intellect. I have worked with children and adults with aphasia for more than 15 years. Many of the people that I’ve worked with and continue to work with are very bright, but have difficulty communicating or processing language.
The reason this myth is so common is that some people mistakenly equate language with intelligence. Aphasia affects and disrupts the ability to access thoughts via language, but it doesn’t stop an individual from having thoughts or ideas. — Lingraphica
People with aphasia are just as smart as they were before their stroke or brain injury, but have difficulty with aspects of language. This is extremely frustrating for the person to experience on a daily basis. Their frustration is compounded when it is assumed that they are unable to think for themselves or make decisions. So, it is imperative that you don’t make this mistake or assumption.
How is the damage to the brain diagnosed?
Most people who experience a stroke or brain injury will require medical attention that necessitates hospitalization or medical management by physicians and specialists. As part of their medical care, their physicians and other healthcare professionals will know to pay attention to any changes in their typical abilities.
Following a stroke, people may have a change in a number of factors including but not limited to speaking, thinking, swallowing, understanding, mobility, muscle weakness and control, vision, and endurance. Some people have difficulty with sleeping, bladder control or experience fatigue and headaches. Their physicians will know to screen each patient for these changes.
After a stroke or a brain injury, people with aphasia will have difficulty with some form of communication, which may entail expressing themselves or understanding language. Sometimes the person who had the stroke or brain injury will notice the change. It could be a family member or loved one that notices a difference. Other times, it is the physician treating the person following their stroke or brain injury.
Most people will undergo a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) or computed tomography (CT) scan to confirm the stroke/brain injury and the location in their brain. Both tests are done with large, donut shaped machines in the hospital. An MRI uses radio waves and a powerful magnet to generate pictures of the brain and a CT scan uses X-rays.
Why all the fancy machines?
Each part of the brain helps to support a different language function. When doctors and speech pathologists know the area of their brain that is affected, it can help to predict what deficits the person may have. For example, if the brain injury occurred in the left-front side of the brain, then the speech therapist will want to pay special attention to grammar and spontaneous speech.
Following the MRI and CT scan, the physician will often do a brief screening of language and then refer to a speech pathologist for a comprehensive assessment. Speech pathologists are speech, language, and communication experts with specialized training to support those with aphasia and their loved ones. Learn more about speech pathologists here.
Can aphasia be treated?
YES! Absolutely. Many people make meaningful improvements with the support of medical management and intensive speech therapy. Speech therapy will often start while the person is in the hospital and will continue through outpatient work.
Goals of speech therapy are selected with the support of the person with aphasia as well as their family. The speech therapist then creates an individualized program to practice the skills required to meet the goals that they have developed as a team.
Some people with aphasia will recover many of the impaired skills in the first few months after their stroke and others will require ongoing speech therapy. For some, progress may be quick at first and then begin to slow. While there are times when progress seems slow, measurable improvement can be made years after the brain injury.
Speech therapy will focus on educating the individual and their loved ones about aphasia and how to support communication at home and in the community. Speech therapy addresses weaknesses, supports learning of new skills, and will capitalize on the person’s strengths. Speech therapy can occur in-person or virtually. Both treatment options have shown to be effective, and should occur in the person’s primary language.
Where can I learn more about aphasia?
Learning more about aphasia is one of the most important things you can do to support people with aphasia. Check out the links below for more information and resources in you community:
National Aphasia Association (NAA)
Aphasia Recovery Connection (ARC)
Brain Injury Association of America (BIAA)
Summary
Aphasia is an acquired condition caused by damage to the brain, most often a stroke or brain injury. It can impair different areas of language, including speaking, reading, writing, understanding, along with coming up with the words, organizing their thoughts and following directions.
Aphasia does not impact intelligence, it impairs language.
Aphasia can be found in people of all ages, genders, nationalities, and races. Just as no two people are the same, each person’s experience with aphasia will be different. Some people will experience impairment in only some areas of language, while others will experience impairment in all areas of language.
Aphasia is assessed and treated by physicians and speech therapists. Doctors will help identify the cause of the injury and use specific scans to gain information about the parts of the brain that are impacted. Speech therapists will assess the person’s language skills to specifically identify areas of language that have changed after the injury to the brain.
The goals for speech therapy are developed by the person with aphasia as well as their family.
With the support of family, the community, physicians and speech therapists, people with aphasia can make great improvements.
I hope you found this blog about aphasia helpful!
TLC Speech Therapy is a speech pathology private practice, headquartered in Boston, Massachusetts, that specializes in feeding, swallowing, and cognitive-communication skills in infants, children, teens, and adults.
TLC Speech Therapy offers specific, individualized, and high-intensity programs for people with aphasia.
For more information about speech therapy or high-intensity programming, check out our website at tlcspeechtherapy.com or contact us at hello@tlcspeechtherapy.com
Disclaimer :)
As a speech therapist and certified brain injury specialist, I have experience working with children and adults in all types of settings. The information in this article is meant to provide some general information about aphasia. It is not meant as clinical advice. If you ever have any concerns, please consult with a physician.
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