Aphasia is a condition that may present itself for a number of different medical reasons, and understanding the causes, signs, and symptoms may help a sufferer know when to seek medical attention. Aphasia is language disorder and a unique condition in that it causes the sufferer to have difficulty understanding language, speaking with others, and reading, but it doesn’t mean the sufferer is not smart or has become less intelligent due to the condition. Aphasia also doesn’t impact the way a person thinks; it is a language disorder rather than a sign of mental deficiency.
When brain damage occurs and aphasia results, a person may also suffer from related conditions like dysphagia, which is a problem swallowing or dysarthria, which is a muscle weakness inside the mouth. People who suffer from migraines may experience transient aphasia, which is a temporary occurrence of the condition that may come and go as the sufferer experiences the symptoms of a migraine aura. Abnormally functioning neurons may cause the problem to arise during a migraine. According to the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association, aphasia is most commonly caused by a stroke, but brain damage of any type may cause it to occur.
1. Social Isolation
Resulting from an inability to communicate naturally, aphasia often results in social isolation. A research study published in 2013 aimed to track social connections and isolation for people suffering from aphasia. Researchers Candace P. Vickers and Darla K Hagge found that isolation occurred in all respondents to the study and that the incidence of isolation knew no boundaries as far as gender, social status, or other demographic labels were concerned. Most of the sufferers of the condition are adults, and participating in social situations becomes difficult without the ability to share ideas, communicate feelings, or make new connections and friends.
Extreme social isolation may result in traumatic experiences like hallucinations and dementia, as well an increase in conditions like blood pressure and the increased likelihood of developing Alzheimer’s disease. The basic functions of the body may experience significant harm with the development of disrupted sleeping patterns, poor verbal reasoning, short attention spans, and bad logical reasoning. Severe isolation can even interrupt a person’s sense of time and result in permanent mental instability. Minor hallucinations that feature random lights and patterns in front of the eyes may graduate to full hallucinations of animals, people, and objects that don’t exist. Individuals suffering from the condition must remain under the care of a medical professional to prevent extended bouts of social isolation.
2. Persistent Repetition of Words
Several speech disorders exist that cause a person to repeat words in a random or persistent manner, and the diagnosis of aphasia may include a test for repetition ability. Information from the National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders indicates that damage to a large portion of the language centers of the brain may result in significant communication problems. Sufferers may begin to repeat short phrases over and over, or they may begin to utter the same few words repeatedly. An inability to understand words and short sentences, as well as the persistent repetition of words, may indicate a person is suffering from global aphasia.
3. Difficulty Speaking
One of the reasons people with aphasia suffer from extreme social isolation is the inability to speak that may accompany the condition. Not only will a person find that he or she is unable to think of a word to fit a particular situation, but he or she may also say the wrong word. The severity of the condition can vary, and one person may use a related word for the word he or she actually wants to say and another person may use a wholly different word. For example, someone may say “fish” when he or she means to say “bird.” A person with a worse case may say “carpet” when he or she means to say “pizza.”
4. Jumbled Speech
A person suffering from amnesia or anomic aphasia may find it difficult to find the right word to say in a given situation, as well as use the wrong words or phrases when speaking about people, places, objects, or events. Jumbled speech is one of the five most-common symptoms of aphasia, and stroke survivors and people who have experienced traumatic brain events may speak in a jumbled or unclear manner. Some people who experience severe side effects from migraines may speak in a jumbled manner as they struggle to find the right word. Even though people may understand the words spoken by those around them, they may speak in an unintelligible way.
5. Loss of the Ability to Write
Aphasia impacts the area of the brain responsible for communication, and one type of communication that may suffer is the ability to write. The severity of a person’s writing problems may vary from minor problems with writing sentences to major issues writing letters and understanding anything about the writing process. A common challenge for people recovering from a stroke, a person may experience fatigue after spending several minutes trying to write a sentence or create letters. When the result of a stroke, the loss of the ability to write may accompany a need to switch writing hands since strokes often create permanent muscle weakness or loss of muscle control.
6. Difficulty Drawing
Some people who suffer from aphasia use drawing as an alternative means of communicating, but not all sufferers retain the ability to draw or write coherently with a pencil or pen. When testing for the affliction, a doctor will test the patient on several methods of communication including verbal communication, reading, writing, and drawing. Difficulty drawing may occur in several types of the condition that include expressive, anomic, global, and primary progressive aphasia. A mild case may not result in the loss of writing or drawing ability, but a severe case may cause a near total loss of ability to communicate with others using traditional means.
7. Repeated Actions
Related to repeating words is the symptom of repeated actions, and this sign may often accompany the overall repetitive behavior routinely seen in people with aphasia. When paired with repeated words, jumbled or slurred speech, and an increasingly isolated social calendar, an onlooker may be able to make a diagnosis before making a doctor’s appointment. Since people with the condition don’t suffer from a reduction in basic intelligence, it’s also possible for suffers to self-diagnose the problem and make the choice to visit with a doctor to confirm the diagnosis and begin treatment. Repeated actions may indicate other maladies, too, so it’s important to consider asking a professional when faced with this symptom.
