How to Recognize the Symptoms of Aphasia
Aphasia is a language disorder that results from damage to the brain from stroke, a tumor, infection or traumatic injury. People with aphasia have difficulty speaking, understanding and, in some cases, reading and writing.
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Instructions
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Be Aware of These Signs and Changes
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Listen for difficulty finding words, or anomia. For example, a person with aphasia may not be able to recall the word "blanket," but will ask for "the thing that makes me warm."
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Note the use of incorrect words, syllables or phrases. This is known as paraphasia. Someone with aphasia may say "evelator" for "elevator," or substitute a related word: "watching radio" instead of "watching television." In some instances, the person says part of the word correctly, such as "ew" for "chew," and you can recognize what she means: "This meat is hard to ew."
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Be aware of words that are unrecognizable or that do not make sense. This is called neologistic paraphasia.
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Watch for the use of gestures or the habit of talking about a word. For instance, a person with aphasia who cannot recall the word "earring" may point to her ear and say, "I wear it here."
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Pay attention to halting or broken sentences. Called agrammatism, this symptom of aphasia is characterized by sentences that contain nouns and verbs, but no articles or prepositions, such as "Man ... door" rather than "There is a man at the door."
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Monitor long sentences or lengthy statements that do not make sense. Unlike neologistic paraphasia where the words are not actual words, this symptom of aphasia, called jargon, consists of long series of words strung together without meaning.
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Observe your loved one's comprehension of spoken and written words. A person with aphasia may have particular trouble understanding lengthy or rapid speech. Her ability to absorb what she reads silently or to read aloud correctly may also be affected by aphasia.
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Keep an eye on your loved one's writing. People with aphasia often write in a pattern that resembles their speech impairment. It's important to recognize the difference between writing that is impaired due to aphasia and writing problems that result from left- or right-handed muscle weakness following a stroke.
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Learn more about aphasia, its symptoms and what you can do to help your loved one at the National Aphasia Association website (see Resources below). There, you'll also be able to search for support groups in your area and sign up for up-to-date pamphlets on aphasia.
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Tips & Warnings
To recognize the symptoms of aphasia, you will need to be alert for changes in the way your loved one speaks, understands, reads or writes.
Typically, aphasia symptoms develop suddenly following a stroke, but the disorder can come on slowly in some people. Be sure not to ignore or dismiss symptoms that may signal aphasia.
