Understanding aphasia

Aphasia is a disorder that affects verbal and written communication skills such as the ability to read, write, speak, listen, and understand speech. This impairment is caused by damage to one or more areas of the brain that control language, usually due to a stroke, brain tumor, dementia, or other neurological disorder. Aphasia can also be triggered by a head injury or infection.

While older adults are more susceptible, aphasia can affect people of all ages. Symptoms depend on the location and severity of the brain damage. Common variations of the disorder include:

• Global aphasia. This is the most severe type of aphasia, characterized by little or no ability to speak and understand spoken language. A person with global aphasia will also be unable to read and write.
• Wernicke’s aphasia. Also known as fluent aphasia, this type is characterized by long or disconnected sentences that include incorrect or nonsense words. A person with this form of the disorder will also struggle to comprehend speech.
• Broca’s aphasia. Also known as non-fluent aphasia, this variation of the disorder is characterized by limited vocabulary, short statements, and laborious speech. However, a person with Broca’s aphasia will often retain the ability to understand spoken language.

Speech-language therapy is often recommended for treating aphasia. Depending on the location and severity of the brain damage, patients may recover some or all of their communication skills over time. For more information about this disorder, visit the National Aphasia Association website at aphasia.org.