Aphasia (Part 1)

“Aphasia (from Greek α, privative, and φασις, speech) is a term which means literally inability to speak, and is used to denote various defects in the comprehension and expression of both spoken and written language which result from injury of brain” (Wikipedia). In other words, aphasia is a communication condition that results from damage to the language areas of the brain; a disorder which limits the comprehension and expression of language. It is an acquired impairment due to brain injury in the left cerebral hemisphere. Aphasia is defined by Webster's Dictionary as a "loss or impairment of the power to use or comprehend words usually resulting from brain damage." 

 The most common cause of aphasia is a stroke or brain attack which occurs when the blood supply to the brain is interrupted. Other causes are brain tumors, head injury, or other neuralgic illnesses.

Anyone can acquire aphasia, but most people who have aphasia are in their middle to late years. Men and women are equally affected. Primary signs of the disorder include difficulty in expressing oneself when speaking, difficulty with reading and writing and trouble understanding speech. Aphasia is not a disease, but a symptom of brain damage.

Types of Aphasia
There are many symptoms that indicate aphasia. These include: inability to comprehend speech, inability to write (agraphia), inability to read (alexia), inability to form words, inability to name objects (anomia), poor enunciation, excessive creation and use of personal neologisms (jargon  aphasia), inability to repeat a phrase, persistent repetition of phrases, inability to speak -without muscle paralysis- and  other language impairment

There are many different systems for classifying aphasia and many different types of aphasia within each system. Some systems are mainly based on the location of the lesion. Others are based on the person's behavior.

The common types of aphasia are:
1.    Broca's aphasia (expressive aphasia)
People with this type of aphasia have difficulty communicating with others orally and and in written.
2.    Wernicke's aphasia (receptive aphasia)
This type involves difficulty understanding spoken or written language. The aphasic can hear the voice or see the print but is not able to make sense of the words.