Aphasia is a brain disorder where a person has trouble speaking or understanding other people speaking. This happens with damage or disruptions in parts of the brain that control spoken language. It often happens with conditions like stroke. Aphasia is often treatable, and speech therapy can still help people who have this condition permanently.
Broca's area, which controls speaking ability, and Wernicke's area, which controls word selection and understanding, are commonly affected by aphasia. Aphasia is a disorder where you have problems speaking or understanding what other people say. It usually happens because of damage to part of your brain but can also happen with conditions that disrupt how your brain works. There are also multiple types of aphasia. The location of the damage in your brain determines the type of aphasia you have. This condition is almost always a symptom of another problem, such as a stroke or traumatic brain injury. It can also happen as a temporary effect of conditions like migraines. Aphasia is often treatable, especially when the underlying condition is treatable or can heal on its own. What is the difference between aphasia vs. dysarthria, dysphasia or apraxia?Aphasia is a condition that has a connection or an overlap with several other speech-related disorders and problems, such as dysarthria, dysphasia and apraxia.
Who does it affect?Aphasia can affect anyone who has damage to the areas of the brain that control your ability to speak or understand other people speaking. It’s more common in middle-aged and older adults — especially because of conditions like stroke — but it can also happen at any age. How common is this condition?Aphasia is uncommon, with about 2 million people in the United States having this condition and about 180,000 more developing it each year. It does happen very commonly with certain conditions. An example of this is stroke, where nearly one-third of people with that condition also have some form of aphasia. How does this condition affect my body?Because this affects your ability to communicate, people with this condition often feel it's hard for others to understand them. This can cause a range of problems. Some are just minor annoyances, like not being able to ask for a glass of water. Others could become life-threatening misunderstandings, like not being able to tell someone that you’re having symptoms of a stroke.
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