Aphasia

What is it? With aphasia you have difficulty forming words so you make mistakes, sometimes using the wrong sounds in a word, choosing the wrong one, or putting them together incorrectly.

This is caused by something that affects the brain, like a stroke, and also affects speaking and writing in the same way.

What are the causes? Aphasia is caused by damage to parts of the brain responsible for understanding and using language. Common causes include: stroke, severe head injury, brain tumour and progressive neurological conditions such as Parkinson’s disease.

Who is affected? Aphasia is most common in people over 65 years old as stroke and common progressive neurological conditions tend to affect older adults.

The Stroke Association estimates more than 376,000 stroke survivors in the UK are living with aphasia.

Types of aphasia There are two: expressive or receptive aphasia, depending on whether there are difficulties with understanding or expressing language, or both.

How is aphasia treated? A speech and language therapist usually diagnoses the condition, and speech therapy is the main type of treatment aimed at helping you to communicate and develop alternative ways of communicating.

A number of computer-based applications are available too, but it’s important to start using these with the assistance of a speech and language therapist.

The success of treatment differs from person to person, but most people with aphasia make some degree of recovery, and some recover fully.

With a progressive condition, treatment focuses on making the most of what people can still do, and on developing other ways of communicating, to prepare for a time when speaking will become more difficult.