About Aphasia

Did you know...

• Aphasia is a disorder of the brain. It affects a person's ability to communicate. Aphasia occurs most commonly following a stroke.
• One third of all stroke survivors are diagnosed with Aphasia.
• Aphasia does not affect a person's intellect.
• A person with Aphasia typically has difficulty speaking and sometimes understanding what people are saying, as well as reading and writing. Aphasia can be mild, or so severe that communication with the person is almost impossible.

Can you imagine what it would be like if...

• You couldn't answer the phone
• You couldn't talk to your children
• You couldn't write your name
• You needed someone to speak for you
• You wanted to say "Yes" but you said "No"

These are just a few of the ways people may experience Aphasia

Aphasia Fact Sheet

What is aphasia?

Aphasia is a language disorder that results from damage to portions of the brain that are responsible for language. The disorder impairs both the expression and understanding of language as well as reading and writing.

Who has aphasia?

Anyone can acquire aphasia, but most people who have aphasia are in their middle to late years. Men and women are equally affected. It is estimated that one million persons in the United States currently have aphasia.

What causes aphasia?

Many times, the cause of the brain injury is a stroke. A stroke occurs when, for some reason, blood is unable to reach a part of the brain. Brain cells die when they do not receive their normal supply of blood, which carries oxygen and important nutrients. Other causes of brain injury are severe blows to the head, brain tumors, brain infections, and other conditions of the brain.

How is aphasia diagnosed?

Aphasia is usually first recognized by the physician who treats the individual for his or her brain injury. Frequently this is a neurologist. The physician typically performs tests that require the individual to follow commands, answer questions, name objects, and converse. If the physician suspects aphasia, the individual is often referred to a speech-language pathologist, who performs a comprehensive examination of the person's ability to understand, speak, read, and write.

How is aphasia treated?

In some instances an individual will completely recover from aphasia without treatment. This type of "spontaneous recovery" usually occurs following a transient ischemic attack (TIA), a kind of stroke in which the blood flow to the brain is temporarily interrupted but quickly restored. In these circumstances, language abilities may return in a few hours or a few days. For most cases of aphasia, however, language recovery is not as quick or as complete. While many individuals with aphasia also experience a period of partial spontaneous recovery (in which some language abilities return over a period of a few days to a month after the brain injury), some amount of aphasia typically remains. In these instances, speech-language therapy is often helpful. Recovery can occur throughout a lifetime. Some of the factors that influence the amount of improvement include the cause of the brain damage, the area of the brain that was damaged, the extent of the brain injury, and the age and health of the individual. Additional factors include motivation, handedness, and educational level.

Family members are encouraged to:

• Simplify language by using short, uncomplicated sentences.
• Repeat the content words or write down key words to clarify meaning as needed.
• Maintain a natural conversational manner appropriate for an adult.
• Minimize distractions, such as a blaring radio, whenever possible.
• Include the person with aphasia in conversations.
• Ask for and value the opinion of the person with aphasia, especially regarding family matters.
• Encourage any type of communication, whether it is speech, gesture, pointing, or drawing.
• Avoid correcting the individual's speech.
• Allow the individual plenty of time to talk.
• Help the individual become involved outside the home. Seek out support groups such as stroke clubs.

This information was provided by the:
National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders (NIDCD).
The NIDCD is an institute of the National Institutes of Health (NIH).
October 1997 - NIH Pub. No. 97-4257