Aphasia: causes, symptoms, and Prevention

Aphasia: causes, symptoms, and Prevention-Aphasia is a communication disorder that occurs due to brain damage in one or more areas that control language. It can interfere with your verbal communication, written communication, or both. It can cause problems with your ability to:

 

Read

Write

Speak

Understand speech

Listen

According to the National Aphasia Association, about 1 million Americans have some form of aphasia.

 Types of Aphasia

There are types of aphasia. Each type can cause impairment that varies from mild to severe. Common types of aphasia include the following:

 Expressive aphasia (non-fluent):

With expressive aphasia, the person knows what he or she wants to say, yet has difficulty communicating it to others. It doesn’t matter whether the person is trying to say or write what he or she is trying to communicate.

Receptive aphasia (fluent):

With receptive aphasia, the person can hear a voice or read the print, but may not understand the meaning of the message. Oftentimes, someone with receptive aphasia takes language literally. Their own speech may be disturbed because they do not understand their own language.

Anomic aphasia:

With anomic aphasia, the person has word-finding difficulties. This is called anomia. Because of the difficulties, the person struggles to find the right words for speaking and writing.

Global aphasia:

 This is the most severe type of aphasia. It is often seen right after someone has a stroke. With global aphasia, the person has difficulty speaking and understanding words. In addition, the person is unable to read or write.

 Primary progressive aphasia:

Primary progressive aphasia is a rare disorder where people slowly lose their ability to talk, read, write, and comprehend what they hear in conversation over a period of time. With a stroke, aphasia may improve with proper therapy. There is no treatment to reverse primary progressive aphasia. People with primary progressive aphasia are able to communicate in ways other than speech. For instance, they might use gestures. And many benefit from a combination of speech therapy and medications.

Causes of Aphasia

Aphasia is usually caused by a stroke or brain injury with damage to one or more parts of the brain that deal with language. According to the National Aphasia Association, about 25% to 40% of people who survive a stroke get aphasia.

Aphasia may also be caused by a brain tumor, brain infection, or dementia such as Alzheimer’s disease. In some cases, aphasia is a symptom of epilepsy or other neurological disorder.

Symptoms of Aphasia

Aphasia is a sign of some other condition, such as a stroke or a brain tumor.

A person with aphasia may: 

• Speak in short or incomplete sentences

• Speak in sentences that don’t make sense

• Substitute one word for another or one sound for another

• Speak unrecognizable words

• Not understand other people’s conversation

• Write sentences that don’t make sense

• The severity and scope of the problems depend on the extent of damage and the area of the brain affected.

Prevention of Aphasia

Many of the conditions that cause aphasia aren’t preventable, such as brain tumors or degenerative diseases. However, the most common cause of aphasia is stroke. If you reduce your risk of stroke, you can lower your risk of aphasia.

Take the following steps to lower your risk of stroke:

• Stop smoking if you smoke.

• Drink alcohol only in moderation.

• Exercise daily.

• Eat a diet that’s low in sodium and fat.

• Take steps to control your blood pressure and cholesterol.

• Take steps to control diabetes or circulation problems if you have them.

• Get treatment for atrial fibrillation if you have it.

• Get immediate medical care if you develop the symptoms of a stroke.