Aphasia is a lifelong disorder that affects more than 180,000 Americans per year. It’s common for people aged 60 and older. This condition is usually a result of damage or injury to the specific region in the brain that controls your reading, speaking, or writing capabilities.
BY: GUY JABBAR
Words can’t truly describe what it’s like watching a loved one suffer in pain right before your eyes—with no way to do anything to stop the inevitable—a slow and possible painful death. This is true for the family of TV personality star, Wendy Williams and actor, Bruce Willis who have both brought worldwide attention to Aphasia and Frontotemporal Dementia (FTD).
Aphasia is a disorder resulting from damage or injury to the language area in the brain. Common causes are Stroke, Severe head injury, Brain infection, Brain tumor, and also a degenerative disease that damages the brain tissues such as Alzheimer’s disease.
This communication disorder affects a person’s ability to express themselves through language, speech, comprehension, difficulty and the ability to read and write.
“Aphasia is a common complication of stroke!”
Rutgers University, Neurologist, Jose Vega MD, PhD, specializes in neurology and strokes.
For more than two decades, Dr. Vega has worked as a neurologist, serving populations at high risk of stroke in various emergency, inpatient, and outpatient settings.
“Many people go to rehabilitation programs, which often include a speech pathologist (in addition to a team of medical providers) who can help with recovery.”
Aphasia refers to a difficulty understanding language or speaking. It is a common complication of stroke.
In general terms, aphasia is a disturbance in the production, processing, or understanding of language due to brain damage, most commonly from a stroke.
For stroke survivors living with aphasia, treatment is an important aspect of life after a stroke. There are several treatment approaches for the different types of aphasia.
NOTE: Frequently, FTD is often misdiagnosed as Alzheimer’s, depression, Parkinson’s or a psychiatric condition, and it typically takes more than three years to get accurately diagnosed.
Treating aphasia depends a lot on the root cause. For example, after a brain injury like a stroke, some people are able to recover significant function—including language skills—depending on what parts of the brain were affected and how extensive the damage was.
The severity of the symptoms of Aphasia depends on the area of the brain affected and the extent of damage. Here are 7 warning signs of aphasia:
- Difficulty speaking short or incomplete sentences
- Writing or speaking words or sentences that don’t make sense
- Difficulty in finding the right words to speak or write (word recall)
- Substituting one word for another or one sound for another
- Speaking unrecognizable words
- Inability to follow others conversations
- Migraines, seizures, or transient ischemic attack (TIA) may cause temporary episodes of aphasia
If you suddenly develop any symptoms of aphasia and dementia, or have any questions and concerns, talk to a doctor who specializes in this condition.
Bottom Line
Although there’s no cure for aphasia or dementia, there are some preventive measures that may be applied to lifestyle to help reduce the risk of developing certain conditions associated with aphasia such as stroke and Alzheimer’s disease. Here are some lifestyle changes you may consider: Quit smoking, Avoid drinking, Stay mentally active, and Exercise regularly.
More From Universial Health:
- ALS: Lou Gehrig’s disease. Here’s what you should know about this rare muscular degenerative disease
- CDC Warns: Rising Cases of RSV-Associated Emergency Visits and Hospitalizations Increased Across the Country
- Celine Dion continues battle with Stiff Person Syndrome (SPS). Here’s 7 warning signs of this rare disorder?
- Sickle Cell Disease: What You Need to Know About This Rare Blood Disorder
