What is Aphasia?

Aphasia is a language impairment that can impact a person’s ability to speak or understand speech. It can also impact a person’s ability to read and write. It is caused by damage to one or more of the areas in the brain that are responsible for language. Aphasia impairs one’s ability to process language, but it does not affect intelligence.

Types of Aphasia After Brain Injury

• Expressive aphasia results from damage primarily to the frontal lobe of the brain. A person with expressive aphasia has difficulty producing speech but can usually understand it and may retain the ability to read, but not to write. Intelligence and cognition are not affected.
• Receptive aphasia results from damage to the temporal lobe of the brain. People with receptive aphasia is able to produce speech but may use incorrect words and may not realize that what they’re saying doesn’t make sense. Individuals with receptive aphasia have difficulty understanding spoken and written words because they have deficits in processing what words mean.
• Global aphasia is the result of injury to both the frontal and temporal lobes in the brain. A person with global aphasia has extreme difficulty speaking and comprehending others. Reading and writing are usually severely impaired with global aphasia.

Tips for Communicating with a Person Who Has Aphasia

• Be patient and allow time for a response.
• Let the speaker know when you have difficulty understanding them.
• Use augmentative and alternative communication, such as gestures to indicate “yes” or “no” answers, eye gaze boards, or electronic devices (including those that project an artificial voice).
• Make sure you’re speaking with and not for the person.
• Keep conversations simple and direct but at the correct age level.

To learn more about the link between brain injury and aphasia, check out these resources:

• Assistive Technology for People Living with Brain Injury
• National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders: Aphasia Overview
• National Aphasia Association
• Ted-Ed: Aphasia: The Disorder That Makes You Lose Your Words

If you need personalized support or resources, contact BIAA’s National Brain Injury Information Center at 1-800-444-6443 or email us at info@biausa.org.