June marks the start of Aphasia Awareness Month, designed to educate many on aphasia: causes, long-term affects, and the lives of those living with this condition. But, as the University of Nevada – Reno notes, many people aren’t quite sure what aphasia actually is! So today, I’m going to give you an overview on this condition and avenues for support.
Aphasia
According to the National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders (NIDCD), aphasia is:
a disorder that results from damage to portions of the brain that are responsible for language [production and processing]. For most people, these areas are on the left side of the brain.
Additionally, this damage causes issues with listening, reading, and writing. Aphasia is not an intellectual condition and doesn’t affect someone’s intelligence. However, it does cause issues with communication.
Generally, causes include:
- A stroke
- In fact, around 25-40% of people who have a stroke will develop aphasia. Additionally, if symptoms last up to 3 months after a stroke, the chances of fully recovering language ability are small.
- Brain tumors
- Gunshot wounds
- Alzheimer’s disease and other progressive neurological conditions
- Infections
- Trauma to the head or face
The National Aphasia Association (NAA) shares that there are multiple subsets of this condition:
- Global
- Broca’s
- Mixed non-fluent
- Wernicke’s
- Anomic
- Primary progressive
However, other types may exist. Currently, aphasia impacts around 2 million U.S. citizens. People of all ages, races, and biological sex can develop this condition.
Outside of communication issues, patients may experience reduced quality of life, loneliness and isolation, boredom, depression and anxiety, and a lack of social support.
Resources
Looking for more educational resources or resources to better understand your condition? You can find them below:
- Constant Therapy is an app for patients with aphasia, traumatic brain injury, stroke, or dementia. It provides cognitive, language, and speech therapy with over 75 science-based task categories and 100,000 exercises. Learn more, or try your 15-day free trial, here.
- You can also find other communication or language-based apps, like Lingraphica, here.
- If you’re looking for support, here are approximately 635 of the NAA’s affiliates.
- Create a free aphasia ID card to help others understand your condition. This is also a great way to break the ice!
- Interested in learning about helpful therapies? Try this guide!
- Looking for a good reading list that highlights this condition? The NAA has a list on their website.
- If you want to join an online community or support group, check out this comprehensive list.
