Aphasia
Aphasia is a neurological disorder resulting from brain injury, typically affecting the left hemisphere, which disrupts core aspects of language processing. It manifests in varying degrees across four main areas:
Speaking ability
Writing ability
Understanding spoken language
Comprehension of written text
Additionally, aphasia can stem from neurodegenerative conditions. For instance, primary progressive aphasia, a subtype of frontotemporal dementia, gradually impairs language skills.
Aphasia is commonly classified as fluent or nonfluent based on speech characteristics. However, there are several subtypes within these categories, reflecting diverse expressive and receptive language abilities. Clinicians must exercise caution when assigning a specific subtype as a person's presentation may not neatly align with any single classification. Furthermore, aphasia symptoms can evolve over time as communication skills improve.
The trajectory of aphasia recovery varies greatly among individuals. Initial severity of aphasia, along with the location of brain lesions, serves as key predictors of long-term recovery.
Read more about aphasia on ASHA’s website.
Technical terms frequently used to describe aphasia defined…
Anomia- having difficulty retrieving words
Neologisms- creating novel words that are not meaningful or recognizable to the listener
Phonemic Paraphasias-substituting sounds (e.g., “wishdasher” for “dishwasher”)
Semantic paraphasias- substituting words (e.g., “table” for “bed,” “bird” for “chicken”)
Agraphia- impairments in written expression
Alexia- impairments in reading comprehension