What is Aphasia?

2. What is Aphasia? -Aphasia is a disorder that results from damage to the parts of the brain that contain language. Aphasia causes problems with any or all of the following: speaking, listening, reading, and writing.

3. Types of Aphasia: Wernicke's AphasiaBroca's AphasiaGlobal Aphasia

4. Wernicke’s Aphasia Often say many words that don’t make sense. May fail to realize they are saying the wrong words; for instance, they might call a fork a “gleeble.” May string together a series of meaningless words that sound like a sentence, but don’t make sense. Have challenges because our dictionary of words is shelved in a similar region of the left hemisphere, near the area used for understanding words.

5. May get out some basic words to get their message across, but leave out words like “is” or “the.” • Often say something that doesn’t resemble a sentence. • Can have trouble understanding sentences. Can have great difficulty forming complete sentences. • Can make mistakes in following directions like “left, right, under, and after.” Broca’s Aphasia

6. Global Aphasia May have great difficulty in understanding words and sentences. May have great difficulty in forming words and sentences. May understand some words. Get out a few words. Have severe difficulties that prevent them from effectively communicating.

7. What causes Aphasia? The most common cause of aphasia is stroke, or a sudden loss of consciousness resulting when the rupture or occlusion of a blood vessel leads to oxygen lack in the brain. It can also result from head injury, or brain tumor.

8. Who can have Aphasia? -Aphasia occurs in people of any age, race, or gender.

9. How many people does Aphasia affect in the United States alone? More than one million people in the United States have Aphasia. Over 100, 000 Americans acquire Aphasia each year.

10. How long does it take to recover from Aphasia? If the symptoms of Aphasia last longer than two or three months after a stroke, a complete recovery is unlikely. However, people do improve over the years.

11. Does Aphasia affect your intelligence? No. A person with Aphasia has trouble retrieving words, but their intelligence is still intact. Other people who do not have Aphasia usually think the person is mentally ill, but they actually just have trouble communicating their thoughts. Usually people who have Aphasia feel shy around groups of people because they’re afraid they will think they’re stupid.

12. Do Aphasia victims usually have a physical disability as well? Yes. When a person acquires Aphasia it is usually due to damage on the left side of the brain, which controls movements on the right side of the body. Although, it’s possible to acquire Aphasia and not have a physical disability.

13. Are there places to go for Aphasia victims to get help? Yes. There are Aphasia centers in different parts of America. These centers help Aphasia victims learn how to better communicate, and overcome normal everyday things that became hard to do. This is a place to communicate without feeling awkward.

14. Are there Aphasia centers in our area? Yes. The Aphasia Center of West Texas is located in Midland, TX. Their goal is to repair COMMUNICATION and HOPE in Aphasia victims.

15. Aphasia victims meet with each other and talk about their home life, childhood, and interests.

16. Planting vegetables, and gardening, is a fun way to start a conversation with friends, right?

21. Aphasia victims learn to better communicateby playing games, such as dominos.

22. Cooking can be a tough task , but at the center, Aphasia victims learn how to prepare a meal easier.

27. Drawing, painting, writing, and facial expressions are other ways people with Aphasia send messages.

29. Aphasia Center of West Texas

30. Presentation by Alyson Reynolds Music: “These Days” by Marc Black (Stroke of Genius) Special thanks to: The Aphasia Center of West Texas (for providing pictures)