What is Aphasia?
If the cerebrovascular event (SVO), also known as stroke, or brain injuries occur in a way that affects the speech centre on the left side of the brain, the person may lose pre-existing speech or be greatly affected. This disorder is called aphasia. In aphasia, problems in expressing and understanding language may occur, as well as problems in reading and writing skills.
In general, two types of classifications can be made as fluent and non-fluent.
In fluent aphasia (Wernicke’s Aphasia), the person produces a speech that is difficult to follow by sequentially sorting words that have no meaning, words that are not related to the subject. The speech of these people is difficult to understand. They also have difficulty understanding their own speech and don’t realize their mistakes.
Non-fluent aphasia (Broca’s Aphasia) is also a type of aphasia in which speech occurs in short sentences and requires effort. People who have non-fluent aphasia understand what is being said to them and are therefore aware of the difficulties they have in speaking.
In global aphasia, a severe representation emerges in which speech and comprehension are both affected. These people’s speaking and understanding of the language skills are very limited, and their word production is very low or sometimes absent.
Starting aphasia therapies early is important for the benefit of the therapy. In some types of aphasia, spontaneous improvement is observed within the first few days, while for others, speech and language therapy is necessary. After completing a detailed speech and language assessment conducted by a speech pathologist, it is determined in which areas the person has problems and a therapy program is started accordingly.
The benefits of therapy vary depending on the degree to which the speech centre is affected, the motivation of the person and the support of the family.
