Today’s post is in honor of Aphasia awareness month! “Aphasia” is a term derived from the Greek a- (not) and phanai (speech), which forms the Greek word, aphatos. While aphasia can take many forms, and can result from many different etiologies, overall, aphasia is a condition in which some kind of neurological changes have impacted a person’s ability to process language (receptive language skills) and produce language (expressive language skills).
Aphasia profiles can vary widely in characteristics and in severity. In some cases, a person with aphasia may have both impaired receptive and expressive language, while others may have relatively unimpaired receptive language skills, but cannot express what they understand or want to say, and therefore may come across as failing to understand what is going on around them, when they actually do. Still, in other situations, a person may seem to be highly verbal and may sound fluent, but may have poor comprehension skills.
Aphasia profiles can differ not only in terms of strengths and weaknesses in expressive and receptive language, but also in terms of modality. Some people may be able to understand what they hear better than what they read, and for others, it may be the opposite. To complicate the situation even more, cognitive impairments in areas such as memory or attention can also impact a person’s language skills.
Individuals with aphasia may also be impacted by motor speech disorders, such as apraxia, which affects the ability to produce motor sequences needed for speech, and dysarthria, a condition in which the musculature for speech and articulation is affected. Swallowing impairment, or dysphagia, is another potential concomitant disorder that people with aphasia may experience.
I hope this brief post has given you some insight into the complex issues that individuals with aphasia can face. If you have a loved one who has been diagnosed with aphasia, here are some general tips to help you communicate effectively:
- Speak slowly. Many people do not realize how quickly they speak! For an individual who does not have a comprehension deficit, understanding a person who speaks quickly isn’t a problem, but for a person who has a receptive language impairment (and other potential memory issues) it is important to speak more slowly. This doesn’t mean you should speak in an exaggerated way; just speak naturally, but with a slower pace.
- Try using visuals. For example, if you are talking about a schedule, look at the calendar together, and block out any extra or distracting visual information, so that you are looking only at the day/event in question. Just be sure not to use overwhelming amounts of visual information.
- Encourage the use of gesture and drawing. There is some evidence that, for people with aphasia who have trouble with word retrieval (e.g., they know what they want to say but the word is on the tip of the tongue and they cannot seem to think of the word), it can be helpful to use gestures, or even to try drawing. Drawing or using gestures may either help the speaker think of the word, or otherwise will at least help you, as the listener, figure out what the speaker is trying to say.
- Give the speaker extra time. Individuals who have aphasia may require extra time to process incoming information, or in order to formulate the language they wish to express.
- Remember that communication is the goal. Whether a person is speaking, writing, or using gestures to communicate, the goal is communication! It can be very frustrating when one isn’t understood but has a lot to say. Hopefully you can appreciate some of the challenges faced by people who have aphasia, and can use some of these tips to improve communication with your friends and loved ones with this condition.
