Aphasia is a speech disorder that includes varying degrees of combinations of speech, comprehension, speech repetition, reading and writing abilities due to brain damage. It usually develops after brain injuries.

The aphasia cliques

Aphasia is a speech disorder that includes varying degrees of combinations of speech, comprehension, speech repetition, reading and writing abilities due to brain damage. It usually develops after brain injuries. It is especially common in left-sided brain injuries. It is the neurological disorder of language functions related to comprehension and expression due to damage to the brain areas responsible for language function. Since the left half of the brain is involved in speech functions, it is more common in damage affecting that side.

What are the types of aphasia?

Aphasias are classified under various names according to the clinical features of speech and comprehension. According to the most used Boston classification, aphasia types are grouped as fluent and nonfluent and are as follows:

  • Broca’s aphasia; fluency was affected, comprehension was slightly affected, expression was affected, repetition and naming were affected.
  • Wernicke’s aphasia; fluency was normal, comprehension was affected, expression was affected, repetition and naming were affected.
  • anomic aphasia; only naming is affected, other functions are normal.
  • Global aphasia; all functions are affected.
  • conduction aphasia; only expression and naming are affected. Other functions are normal.
  • Transcortical aphasias:
    • Transcortical motor aphasia; comprehension and repetition are normal, other functions are slightly affected.
    • Transcortical sensory aphasia; fluency and repetition are normal, other functions are slightly affected.
    • Transcortical mixed aphasia; fluency was affected, comprehension was slightly affected, expression was affected, repetition was normal, and naming was slightly affected.

What are the symptoms of aphasia?

People with aphasia have communication problems throughout their lives. Negative changes in speaking ability also cause changes in personal relationships. Aphasia shows symptoms such as difficulties in controlling emotions, physical dependence on relatives, loss of autonomy and limitation in personal activities, decreased social communication, loneliness, changes in social life, stigma and negative feelings (irritation, stress, nervousness, anxiety).



Although aphasia affects a person’s ability to communicate, it does not affect their intelligence. Aphasia can occur alone or alongside other disorders.

Various emotional changes may occur in aphasic individuals such as fear, anxiety, surprise, hopelessness, anger, humor, crushing, isolation, shock, embarrassment and depression, and withdrawal and loss of confidence as time progresses.

Are there conditions similar to aphasia but not aphasia?

Conditions resembling aphasia include:

  • Mutism: The awake patient does not attempt to speak or make sounds. May be of motivational or psychogenic origin
  • Dysphonia: Disturbance in the volume, quality, or intonation of the voice. It may be due to laryngeal disorders.
  • Aphonia: Complete loss of voice
  • Dysarthria and Articulation disorder

What are the causes of aphasia?

Aphasia can develop in any lesion affecting the brain structure, as well as in diffuse dementias that degenerate the brain. The main causes of aphasia are:

Cerebrovascular diseases: It is the most common cause of aphasia. Aphasia can be seen in any vascular involvement that affects the blood supply in the brain region related to speech in the left hemisphere.

Head traumas : Brain injuries resulting from head trauma lead to bleeding. In particular, bleeding in the speech-related brain region can lead to specific aphasia.

Intracranial tumors: They may rarely cause aphasia. In these patients, aphasia progresses slowly.

Epilepsy: If there are EEG disturbances in children with epilepsy who initially talk normally and develop aphasia over time, this picture is called Landau-Kleffner Syndrome.

Degenerative diseases : Aphasia can be seen in dementia diseases that progress with widespread degenerations in the brain, such as Alzheimer’s or Pick’s disease. It is a slowly progressive aphasia. This condition is also called Mesulam Syndrome. Aphasia in familial Alzheimer’s patients creates a picture that progresses rapidly and has a severe course.

Infections: Aphasia can be seen in infections affecting the brain. It is especially common in Herpes Simplex encephalitis or intracranial abscesses. Aphasia can also be seen in tuberculosis, syphilis and HIV infections.

Other causes: Temporary aphasia may be seen in the aura period in migraine patients. Aphasia can also be seen in patients with multiple sclerosis.

How is aphasia diagnosed?

Aphasia is usually diagnosed after tests by a clinician. These tests often involve simple exercises such as asking a person to name objects in the room, repeat words and phrases, and read and write.



The purpose of these tests is to understand the patient’s ability to:

  • Understanding basic speech and grammar
  • Expressing words, phrases and sentences
  • Communicate socially
  • Reading and writing letters, words and sentences

Imaging techniques such as a CT scan or MRI scan may also be used to assess brain damage.

How is aphasia treated?

Speech therapies are often used in patients with aphasia. In this way, it is beneficial for you to partially regain your communication ability. It can even enable you to develop alternative ways of communication. You can also benefit from computer applications with the help of your therapist.

The success of aphasia treatment depends on the person and the condition causing the aphasia. Aphasias caused by a stroke may improve to some extent. However, the chance of recovery is lower in aphasias caused by degenerative diseases.

In patients with this type of progressive aphasia, knowing that the patient’s condition will worsen allows him to prepare for the future. Different communication ways are developed for these patients.

 


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