

If you're concerned about someone with aphasia, encourage them to discuss any problems with their GP or a member of their care team to access the relevant support. The challenges of living with aphasia can impact how a person feels and interacts with others. When aphasia is caused by a progressive condition, treatment focuses on making the most of what people can still do and developing other ways of communicating to prepare for a time when speaking will be more difficult. Some people can still respond to therapy, but there are currently no good ways of reversing the ongoing injury to the brain. There's no evidence to suggest that recovery stops at a specific time after stroke.īut the chance of recovery is poorer for people with aphasia resulting from a progressive neurological condition. If the aphasia is caused by a one-off event, like a stroke, most patients recover to some degree with therapy. Most people with aphasia make some degree of recovery, and some recover fully. How successful treatment is differs from person to person. You may receive speech and language therapy on an individual basis or in a group, depending on your needs and the service provided.Īn increasing number of computer-based applications are available to support people with aphasia.īut it's important to start using these with the assistance of a speech and language therapist. This aims to help restore some of your ability to communicate, as well as help you develop alternative ways of communicating, if necessary. Speech and language therapy is the main type of treatment for people with aphasia. Imaging techniques such as a CT scan or MRI scan can be used to assess brain damage. read and write letters, words and sentences.socially communicate – for example, hold a conversation or understand a joke.The aim of these tests is to understand a person's ability to: These tests often involve simple exercises, such as asking a person to name objects in the room, repeat words and sentences, and read and write. They can also help arrange treatment if necessary. Diagnosing aphasiaĪphasia is usually diagnosed after tests carried out by a clinician – either a speech and language therapist or a doctor. This is because strokes and progressive neurological conditions tend to affect older adults. progressive neurological conditions – conditions that cause the brain and nervous system to become damaged over time, such as dementiaĪphasia can affect people of all ages, but it's most common in people over the age of 65.stroke – the most common cause of aphasia.Causes of aphasiaĪphasia is caused by damage to parts of the brain responsible for understanding and producing language. Read more about the different types of aphasia. Some people are unaware that their speech makes no sense and get frustrated when others don't understand them. Symptoms can range widely from getting a few words mixed up to having difficulty with all forms of communication. Types of aphasiaĪphasia is often classified as "expressive" or "receptive", depending on whether there are difficulties with understanding or expressing language, or both.īut most people with aphasia have some trouble with their speaking, and will have a mixture of problems with writing, reading and perhaps listening. This could be sometimes using the wrong sounds in a word, choosing the wrong word, or putting words together incorrectly.Īlthough aphasia affects a person's ability to communicate, it doesn't affect their intelligence.Īphasia can occur by itself or alongside other disorders, such as visual difficulties, mobility problems, limb weakness, and problems with memory or thinking skills. Speaking problems are perhaps the most obvious, and people with aphasia may make mistakes with the words they use.

People with aphasia often have trouble with the 4 main ways people understand and use language. It's usually caused by damage to the left side of the brain (for example, after a stroke). Aphasia is when a person has difficulty with their language or speech.
