June is National Aphasia Awareness Month–an annual national campaign by the American Heart Association and the American Stroke Association to share information about aphasia , and about those living with aphasia or caring for people with aphasia, to the general public. Aphasia is a language disorder that disrupts verbal communication by interfering with speaking, understanding, reading and writing; it is typically caused by strokes that occur on the left side of the brain.
It is estimated that there are 80,000 new cases of aphasia per year in the United States (National Stroke Association, 2008).In addition, the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS) estimates that in the United States approximately 1 million people, or 1 in 250, currently have aphasia .
People with aphasia and their caregivers have reported the following difficulties:
• Problems understanding what others are saying to them
• Trouble expressing basic needs verbally
• Trouble finding the right word for what they mean
• Problems with reading, writing or math
• Inability to recognize long words and infrequently used words
Because treatment to help restore these language skills varies from weeks to months, aphasics and their family members benefit from the expertise and guidance of family physicians, neurologists, and speech pathologists. Most importantly, please be patient with the person with aphasia as they need more time to try to get their point across and makes daily conversation less frustrating and more rewarding.
For More Information
The Mount Sinai Health System provides therapy services for people with aphasia at multiple hospital locations. Click here to learn more.
For additional information, visit the The American Heart Association/American Stroke Association or the National Aphasia Association websites.