21 May What is Aphasia and How Can SLPs Help?
Overview
Aphasia is a language disorder that occurs due to brain damage. Aphasia is most often caused by a stroke, but it can also result from a traumatic brain injury (TBI), tumor, or other type of brain damage. Aphasia can cause difficulty with speaking, understanding language, reading, and/or writing. The effects can be mild, such as not being able to remember certain words, to severe, such as the inability to express yourself verbally. Aphasia can co-occur with other difficulties such as swallowing problems, and dysarthria and apraxia, which affect aspects of motor speech. It is important to note that Aphasia does NOT indicate a loss in intelligence/IQ.
It can be scary to receive a diagnosis of aphasia, and while there is no “cure,” there are many options for treatment to make improvements over time. Read on to learn more and see how an SLP can help.
Types of Aphasia
There are several types of aphasia that have different effects on your language and communication. Below we highlight three types of aphasia speech-language pathologists work with often, including Broca’s, Wernicke’s, and Global aphasia.
Broca’s Aphasia: In Broca’s aphasia, your oral communication is affected. Often people with Broca’s aphasia can only speak in single words and short phrases, and it can feel frustrating, difficult, and tiring to express your wants and needs. From the image above, you can see that the area of the brain that is affected is on the left side and toward the front, near your temple. Often people with Broca’s aphasia understand language well, and can also read, but struggle with speaking and writing. It is often called non-fluent aphasia because spoken language does not “flow” like it used to.
Wernicke’s Aphasia: In Wernicke’s aphasia, your comprehension of language is affected. People with Wernicke’s aphasia often sound fluent (they can speak in full sentences), but those sentences don’t make sense or may not relate to the topic at hand, and they can struggle to understand what others say to them or what they read. It can also impacts their ability to write. From the image above, you can see that the area of the brain affected is on the left side toward the back, behind the ear. It is often called fluent aphasia because spoken language “flows,” but it may not make sense.
Global Aphasia: Global aphasia is the most severe form of aphasia, and it affects all aspects of language (reading, writing, speaking, and listening). People with global aphasia have great difficulty with both expressing themselves and understanding others, and often produce little to no spoken language. From the image above, you can see that the damage affects a large area of the left side of the brain, including both Broca’s and Wernicke’s areas. Sometimes, people may be diagnosed with global aphasia early on after their brain injury, and then their diagnosis may change as the brain heals.
Signs of Aphasia
The following signs may indicate that brain damage may have occurred that affects language:
-You can’t think of the word you want to say, or you say the wrong word.
-You use made-up words or switch the sounds in a word. (e.g., cupcake= cakecup)
-You feel like you don’t understand what other people are saying when they talk, either in person, on tv, or while listening to the radio.
-You have trouble following conversations, especially in a noisy environment.
-You have difficulty understanding what you read.
-You are struggling to spell.
-You can’t remember things or struggle to talk about things that have already happened.
Treatment
Speech-language pathologists are here to help! We are trained to support people with aphasia and their families through rehabilitative therapy (help improve language) and by providing compensatory strategies (to improve overall communication). Evidence-based interventions include SPPA, PACE, MIT, SFA and VNest, although your therapist will know best which approaches to tailor to your specific needs.
Communication Tips for family members and caregivers
1. Get the person’s attention before you start speaking, maintain good eye contact and make sure they can clearly see your face.
2. Use gestures and facial expressions, as well as visuals (drawings) to help get your message across.
3. Remove noise and distractions when speaking.
4. Speak moderately slow. Use simple sentences without “talking down”
5. Don’t finish their sentences! Give the person time to think about what they want to say and then to say it. Count at least a slow 10 in your head before chiming in.
Since stroke is the leading cause of aphasia, it can be helpful to consider some preventative steps we can take to manage our health and help prevent the occurrence of a stroke:
-Diet: A balanced diet can go a long way toward promoting good general health an in lowering the risk of stroke. The main focus should be on fresh fruits and vegetables, and a decrease in high cholesterol, high sodium, and high saturated fat foods.
-Physical Activity: Physical inactivity can increase the risk of many ailments linked to stroke, including heart disease, diabetes, obesity, and high blood pressure. Aim for a minimum of 150 minutes/week of activity, like walking, swimming, bike riding or gardening.
-Smoking: Smoking damages the cardiovascular system and increases the risk of a stroke. Quitting smoking greatly lowers your risk for stroke.
Helpful Links:
Written by: Naguine Bensimon Tree, M.A., CCC-SLP, bilingual certification
References:
AMA. (2018). Stroke risk factors you can control, treat and improve. Retrieved April 13, 2021, from https://www.stroke.org/en/about-stroke/stroke-risk-factors/stroke-risk-factors-you-can-control-treat-and-improve
Aphasia. (n.d.). Retrieved April 14, 2021, from https://www.asha.org/public/speech/disorders/aphasia/
Aphasia definitions. (2018, June 20). Retrieved April 29, 2021, from https://www.aphasia.org/aphasia-definitions/
Dronkers, N., & Baldo, J. (2009). Encyclopedia of Neuroscience. Retrieved April 29, 2021, from https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/neuroscience/global-aphasia
What is Aphasia? (n.d.). Retrieved April 29, 2021, from https://www.neuroskills.com/about/news-and-events/what-is-aphasia/