Aphasia
Overview
Aphasia (also called dysphasia) is a condition that makes it difficult to communicate. It can make it hard to speak, read, write and understand others. It's often caused by a stroke or brain injury. There's no cure, but people usually improve with treatment.
Symptoms
Aphasia causes problems with communication including speaking, understanding others, reading and writing. It affects people in different ways, but symptoms may include: not being able to say the right words , speaking very slowly or with long pausesfinding it very difficult to speak, or speaking in very short or incomplete sentencesrepeating, mixing up or missing out wordsmaking up words or soundsnot being able to understand what other people are saying, particularly if you cannot see themdifficulty reading or writing
Causes
Aphasia is caused by damage to the parts of the brain that deal with language. Common causes include: stroke– this is the most common cause of aphasiasevere head injuryabrain tumour, or bleeding or an infection in the brainconditions that cause the brain to become damaged over time, likedementia, or alcohol or drug-related brain damage Anyone can get aphasia, but it's more common in people over 65. This is because the risk of stroke and conditions like dementia is higher for older people. There are different types of aphasia depending on which part of your brain has been affected.
Treatment
Aphasia is treated with speech and language therapy. A speech and language therapist can assess your symptoms and work with you to improve your speaking, reading and writing. They can help you to find different ways to communicate. Treatment depends on your symptoms but can include: matching words to picturescategorising or sorting wordsrepeating words or rhyming taskspractising ways of communicating without words, like drawing, body language, hand movements and facial expressionsusing technology – for example, setting your phone to be voice-activated or taking pictures of things you struggle to namerecommending speech and language therapy apps or computer programs to help you practise Speech and language therapy may be done individually, in a group, face to face or online. It also usually involves the people around you, like your family or friends, and anyone who may help care for you.