Aphasia

Aphasia is a language disorder where people have problems speaking and writing and also understanding both the spoken and written word.

Aphasia is not a condition in itself, rather it is a symptom caused by pre-existing brain damage. Strokes, head injuries and conditions that can damage the brain over time, such as Alzheimer’s disease, or a brain tumour, can all lead to aphasia.

How common is aphasia

Aphasia is a common complication of stroke. It is estimated that a fifth of all stroke victims will experience some degree of aphasia after their stroke and 11,400 people become aphasic due to stroke every year in the UK.

Types of aphasia

There are three main types of aphasia which are described below.

• Fluent aphasia: (also known as Wernicke aphasia). In this type of aphasia the person can speak normally and use long, complex sentences, but the actual words they use make no recognisable sense and/or they include nonsense words in their speech. A person with fluent aphasia may say: "I handbagged the noose and, you know, then ate round the purple with fish."
• Non-fluent aphasia: (also known as Broca aphasia). In this type of aphasia the person has great difficulty in speaking and can only manage to string a number of words together in short, halting sentences. Though the meaning of their speech is usually understandable. A person with non-fluent aphasia could say: "Want...coffee...no...milk."
• Global aphasia: this is the most severe form of aphasia in which people have profound difficulties with expressing and understanding both written and spoken language.

It should be stressed that though aphasia is caused by brain damage, it does not mean that a person with aphasia necessarily has reduced intelligence or has any learning disability. Many people with aphasia can remain entirely rational, but the fact they can’t express themselves, makes aphasia such a traumatic and frustrating experience for people.

Where the brain damage occurs will then determine what type of aphasia a person develops.

Brain