Is your older family member or friend having trouble expressing and understanding language? He or she could be struggling with aphasia.
Aphasia has recently been in the news, with actor Bruce Willis’ diagnosis last year. However, the condition isn’t new. Over 2 million people in the United States live with aphasia, and 100,000 to 180,000 individuals develop aphasia every year.
Depending on type and severity, aphasia can be as simple as an inconvenience or dramatically impact a person’s independence. Your loved one with aphasia may live independently or in a specialized care community. Regardless, he or she will benefit from understanding the condition, and you will.
Aphasia is an acquired language disorder caused by damage to the brain.
People with aphasia have trouble expressing or comprehending spoken and written language. They don’t necessarily have problems with muscle strength or coordination, memory, or other cognitive skills like attention and decision-making. However, aphasia can co-occur with these issues.
Language impairments associated with aphasia do not reflect a person’s intelligence. Individuals still have meaningful thoughts and ideas but may have difficulty communicating them.
Aphasia is most often caused by a stroke in the brain’s left hemisphere, where the language center is located. Other causes of aphasia include traumatic brain injury (TBI), brain tumors and infections, and neurodegenerative diseases such as dementia (as in the case of Bruce Willis).
While people with aphasia experience different issues with expressing and understanding language, the one universal symptom across types is the word-finding difficulty, called anomia. If the older adult in your life has aphasia, you have most likely seen them struggle to find the right word for the person, object, or action they’re trying to talk about.
Speaking impairments can include:
Impairments in language comprehension can include:
There are eight types of aphasia, each with a unique profile of strengths and weaknesses. Types are separated into “fluent” and “non-fluent” aphasias, the main difference being whether a person can produce smooth, effortless speech.
Of course, no diagnosis is the same; everyone experiences aphasia differently.
You may know about one type of aphasia based on your personal experience or that of your loved one. Here are the eight aphasia types:
Primary Progressive Aphasia (PPA) is seen in certain subtypes of dementia. The first observed symptom is language difficulty, though other deficits (such as memory) typically develop.
As each aphasia type and individual experience differs, various treatment options may be appropriate for the older adult in your life.
A certified Speech-Language Pathologist (SLP) should provide speech and language therapy. An SLP will consider your loved one’s communication needs for daily interactions, work responsibilities, social engagement, relationship maintenance, and more.
Determining treatment goals should be a collaborative process between you, your loved one, the SLP, and the staff at the assisted living community if that’s where your loved one with aphasia is living. The person’s needs, interests, and priorities are all important factors when deciding what to target in therapy.
A person-centered approach:
Several therapy methods exist for treating different aspects of aphasia, and specific therapy approaches vary based on individual needs. You might see the Speech-Language Pathologist using one or more of the following:
As a communication partner for a person with aphasia, you can take steps to ensure communication is as easy and stress-free as possible.
Life with aphasia is complex and can be frustrating for the people struggling with the condition and their families and caregivers. However, speech and language therapy can help people strengthen their skills and learn strategies to compensate for communication difficulties. Friends, family members, and caregivers can help create a positive and supportive communication environment to decrease stress and increase success.
These websites and organizations provide excellent resources for individuals living with aphasia as well as for their loved ones, caregivers, and support staff: