Aphasia is a condition that affects how you communicate. It impacts your speech and how you understand or write written and spoken language. You may suffer from aphasia typically following a head injury or a stroke. However, it may also develop gradually via a slow-growing disease or brain tumor that causes permanent and progressive damage. Its severity depends on multiple factors, including brain damage’s extent and its causes. The treatment involves curing the condition responsible. You may also need language and speech therapy.
Causes
Any condition that damages the brain may lead to aphasia. Problems that disrupt the brain’s functions can also lead to it. Some aphasia causes include:
Aneurysms
Alzheimer’s disease
Brain tumors or cancer
Brain surgery
Dementia
Concussion
Cerebral hypoxia
Transient ischemic attacks or strokes
Poisons and toxins such as heavy metal or carbon monoxide poisoning
Migraines
Brain inflammation from bacterial or viral infections or an autoimmune disorder
Chemotherapy
Radiation therapy
Seizures or epilepsy
Congenital conditions or developmental problems
Genetic disorders like Wilson’s disease
Symptoms
Typically, aphasia symptoms can range from mild to severe, but they can overlap and differ based on the damage’s severity and where it occurs. Hence, you must get a professional’s opinion if you think you or someone you love has aphasia. Here are some of the common activities and behaviors that the condition affects:
Reading
Writing
Speaking
Compression
Receptive communication that involves comprehending words from others
Expression communication that involves employing sentences and words
Some symptoms that affect expressive communication comprise:
Speaking in incomplete or short phrases or sentences
Arranging words in an improper sequence
Using nonsense or wrong words
Speaking sentences that others do not comprehend
Some symptoms that affect receptive communication comprise:
Inability to follow fast-paced speech
Challenges with comprehending other people’s speech
Not interpreting figurative speech
Treatment methods for aphasia
The only treatment possible for aphasia is language and speech therapy. Most individuals do not fully recover their communication abilities; nonetheless, speech therapy can yield substantial enhancements, even in cases of global aphasia.
The objective of speech therapy is:
To build the ability to use existing language skills better
Bettering language skills by relearning
Communicating differently by making up for missing words in the speech
There exist different levels of aphasia.Hence, everyone will learn differently, and the techniques employed also vary.
Group therapy
Sometimes people withaphasia may see a therapist who helps them practice and better their language skills by interacting with a group in a helpful and comfortable setting.
MIT or Melodic Intonation Therapy
It helps people with non-fluent aphasia and involves singing or humming in rhythm while repeating words and phrases the patient struggles with. It stimulates the brain function in the right hemisphere and increases the number of words the patients can say.
PACE or Promoting Aphasic’s Communicative Effectiveness
It helps improve communication skills via conversation with someone suffering from aphasia. The healthcare expert shows a drawing or a picture and asks the patient to respond how they can. The communication starts simple but becomes complex over time.
CST or Computerized Script Training
It involves a computer-delivered script based on daily conversations that help patients practice their communication skills using realistic situations.
