Aphasia Facts

• Aphasia is a disorder of the brain, always from brain trauma and most often a result of stroke, which affects the ability to communicate
• While widely under-diagnosed, currently one third of all stroke survivors are diagnosed with aphasia, most often by speech pathologists
• Aphasia can be acquired by people of all ages following severe head and brain injury, including stroke, though it is most common in older people
• It is estimated that one million people in the United States have aphasia (1 in 250 people), more than the number of people with Parkinson's disease, muscular dystrophy, multiple sclerosis or cerebral palsy
• Aphasia, while not affecting the intellect, can impact the ability to understand, read, write and speak (retrieve) words
• People with aphasia resulting from stroke or head injury will usually experience improvement over time, aided by speech therapy
• Speech therapists may be specially trained in the treatment of aphasia
• For people with aphasia, it is the ability to access ideas and thoughts through language that is disrupted, not the ideas and thoughts themselves
• Varying degrees of aphasia include:
  • Non-fluent aphasia, also known as Broca's aphasia (or expressive aphasia) is typified by a person speaking in short, meaningful phrases that take great effort to produce
  • Fluent aphasia, also known as Wernicke's aphasia (or receptive aphasia) is typified by a person speaking in long sentences that have no meaning, unnecessary or made up words; difficulty understanding others
  • Global aphasia is typified by severe communication difficulties and limited ability to speak or comprehend language
• According to a recent survey by the National Aphasia Association (NAA), 40% of people with aphasia had no contact with others with aphasia
• Many people with aphasia are prone to depression, hopelessness and a sense of isolation. They frequently avoid contact with others to avoid mutual frustration. Social interaction and group activities are critical, however, to the progress of people living with aphasia.

Sources:
Adler Aphasia Center, National Aphasia Association, American Stroke Association

Stroke and Aphasia Fact Sheet

• Stroke is a leading cause of serious, long-term disability in the United States
• Every 45 seconds, someone in America has a stroke, resulting in about 700,000 strokes per year
• Stroke accounted for more than 1 of every 15 deaths in the United States in 2001
• The estimated direct and indirect cost of stroke in the United States is $54 billion dollars
• There are two major forms of stroke: ischemic, in which a clot blocks one or more of the arteries taking blood to the brain and hemorrhagic, which occurs when a burst artery bleeds into the brain
• According to the American Stroke Association, among ischemic (of all strokes, 88% are ischemic) stroke survivors who were at least 65 years old, 19% had aphasia
• The National Aphasia Association claims that a majority of people diagnosed with aphasia acquire the communication disorder as a result of stroke
• There are a multitude of language disorders as a result of stroke, aphasia is one of the more frequent consequences but is still considered an under-diagnosed condition.

Sources:
Adler Aphasia Center, National Aphasia Association, American Stroke Association , American Heart Association, Newsweek (March 8, 2004)