Aphasia - Factors That Put You At Risk!

Written and reviewed by

Dr. Murli Singh

D.H.L.S, B.A.S.L.P, M.A, B.Ed .SE . ( H.I )

Speech Therapist, Delhi • 20 years experience

Aphasia is a communication disability that can result from damage or injury to those parts of the brain that process language. It can happen due to stroke, brain tumors, accidents, or brain infection. A brain injury which damages parts of the brain that deal with language can also bring on Aphasia. Aphasia can also be caused by dementia such as Alzheimer’s disease. Aphasia is sometimes also a symptom of epilepsy or other neurological disorders.

It’s more common in older adults, especially after a stroke. What happens in Aphasia is that the affected person is unable to understand or use words. He or she may also:

Have difficulty speaking and finding the "right" words to express themselves verbally
Have problems understanding conversation
Have problems reading and comprehending written words
Have problems writing words
Is unable to calculate or use numbers
Has a tendency to use gibberish words as a part of speech

There are various types of Aphasia, differing in certain important ways from each other.
Aphasia can also be mild or severe. With mild Aphasia, the patient is able to converse, though he may not be able to find the right word or may not understand complex conversations.
However, in severe Aphasia, a person may lose his ability to communicate completely which means he can’t speak or understand any conversation and may also not be able to read or write.

Three things that aid Aphasia recovery are

Speech Therapy
Family Support
Persistence

Treatment for Aphasia depends on factors like:

Age
Cause of brain injury which causes Aphasia
Type of Aphasia
Position and size of the brain lesion causing Aphasia
If the Aphasia is due to a brain tumor, surgery to remove the tumor affecting the language centre can treat Aphasia.
For a person who’s got Aphasia due to a stroke, sessions with a speech-language specialist are very effective. The therapist teaches the patient ways to communicate using stuff that doesn’t involve speech.

He uses the following to help the patient communicate without words:

Props
Drawings and pictures
Teaching patient to speak slowly and be calm when talking.

Treatment techniques
The speech therapist uses these two main techniques to tackle Aphasia:

Substitute skill model: This uses a prop like a writing board to help with spoken language.
Direct treatment model: This approach uses specific exercises to help patients
Copy and recall therapy (CART): This approach uses repetition and recall of certain words during speech therapy.
Visual communication therapy (VIC): This involves the use of index cards to represent various components of speech.

In addition, Aphasia patients are also trained in the use of hand gestures to aid in communication as a part of ‘Visual Action Therapy (VAT)’.

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