Aphasia GENERAL INFORMATION: What is aphasia? Aphasia is when your ability to speak or understand words is decreased or absent.

You may have problems reading, writing, putting thoughts into words, or understanding others. This may decrease your ability to communicate. With time, your daily activities and relationships may also be affected. Aphasia can be a short-term or long-term problem. What causes aphasia? Aphasia usually results from other diseases that cause brain damage. This could include an injury to the area of the brain where language is formed. A stroke is the most common brain injury causing aphasia. The following are also causes of aphasia:

Brain tumor. Head trauma (injury). Other brain diseases, such as infections, epilepsy, dementia, Parkinson's disease, and Alzheimer's disease.

What are the signs and symptoms of aphasia? Signs and symptoms of aphasia may be grouped into:

Nonfluent aphasia: This is also called Broca's aphasia. People with nonfluent aphasia may take great effort even when speaking short and meaningful phrases. This is often seen as difficulty in finding the words that one has to say. Writing may also be affected. Fluent aphasia: This is also called Wernicke's aphasia. People with fluent aphasia may speak in long sentences that have no meaning. They may add useless words or even make up new words. They may have great difficulty in understanding what other people say. Reading may also be affected. Global aphasia: People with global aphasia have difficulty expressing themselves and understanding what other people say. Both reading and writing may be affected. This is the most severe form of aphasia. Primary progressive aphasia: This is also called PPA and is associated with dementia. Dementia is a gradual loss of your ability to think. Symptoms include a gradual loss in your ability to name objects. You may also have problems finding the words to say, making sentences, and understanding what others say. Memory and intelligence are not affected with PPA.

How is aphasia diagnosed? You may have the following tests:

Magnetic Resonance Imaging: This test is called an MRI. During the MRI, pictures are taken of your head. An MRI may be used to look at your brain, muscles, joints, bones, or blood vessels. You will need to lay still during an MRI. Never enter the MRI room with any metal objects. This can cause serious injury. Tell your caregiver if you have any metal implants in your body. Positron emission tomography scan: This is also called a PET scan. A PET scan looks at different parts of your body to see how they are working. Speech-language assessment: This is a group of tests also known as aphasia battery or aphasia tests. These tests are usually given by a caregiver called a speech-language pathologist. This caregiver assesses and treats people with speech, hearing, and language problems.

How is aphasia treated? Most people with aphasia need speech-language therapy but sometimes people recover without treatment. Medicines or surgery may be needed to treat the initial brain injury. These treatments may also improve aphasia. Ask your caregiver for more information about how to treat aphasia.

How do I communicate with a person with aphasia? Following are some tips to help you and your family members when communicating with each other:

Avoid background noise and other distractions. Encourage all kinds of communication, such as speaking, writing, drawing, pointing, facial expressions, hand gestures, and eye contact. Give the person time to talk. Speak slowly. Talk to the person as an adult. Use simple sentences. Understand that the person with aphasia may feel frustrated.

Where can I find support and more information? Aphasia is a life-changing condition for you and your family and accepting it may be hard. You and those close to you may feel scared, depressed, or angry. These are normal feelings. Talk to caregivers, family, or friends about your feelings. You may also want to join a support group. This is a group of people who also have aphasia. Contact the following for more information:

National Aphasia Association 7 Day Street, Ste 600 New York , NY10007 Phone: 1- 800 - 922-4622 Web Address: http://www.aphasia.org American Speech-Language-Hearing Association 10801 Rockville Pike Rockville , MD 20852 Phone: 1- 800 - 638-8255 Web Address: http://www.asha.org