Aphasia
Causes of aphasia
Source: NHS
In this topic (5)
Aphasia is the result of damage to the parts of the braininvolved in speaking, reading, writing and understanding others.
Any damage to the language areas of the brain can result in loss of function, leading to aphasia.
The severity of a person's aphasia depends on the location and type of injury sustained by the brain.
Aphasia can occur by itself oralongside other disorders, such as visual difficulties, mobility problems, limb weakness and cognitive changes.
Aphasia affects a person's language,but it doesn't affect a person's intelligence.
Brain damage
Ways the brain can become damaged include:
- Heat exhaustion and heatstroke the brain is deprived of blood and oxygen during a stroke,which leads to death of brain tissue
- severe head injury for example, an injury as a result of a road traffic accident orafter a serious fall from height
- brain tumour where an abnormal growth of cells develops inside the brain
- health conditions that cause progressive loss of braincells, such as dementia Parkinson's disease does not cause aphasia, but some very similar conditions may do so, such as progressive supranuclear palsy (PSP) or corticobasal degeneration (CBD)
- infections that affect the brainsuch as meningitis (an infection of the outer layer of the brain) and encephalitis (an infection of the brain itself), although this is a much rarer cause of aphasia
Articles for Aphasia
Causes of aphasia
Aphasia is the result of damage to the parts of the brain that are responsible for speaking, reading, writing and understanding others.
Diagnosing aphasia
Aphasia is usually diagnosed after tests carried out by a specialist called a speech and language therapist (SLT).
Introduction
Aphasia is a communication disorder that makes it difficult to read, write or speak.
Symptoms of aphasia
The main sign of aphasia is difficulty with communication, although the condition affects everyone differently.
Treating aphasia
Sometimes aphasia will improve on its own without treatment, but a type of treatment called speech and language therapy is usually recommended.