A complex language and communication disorder resulting from damage to the language centres of the brain, typically the left side of the brain. This damage may be caused by a stroke, a head injury, a brain tumour or another neurological illness. Aphasia means full loss of language, while dysphasia stands for partial loss of language. The word aphasia is now commonly used to describe both conditions.

If you have aphasia you may have difficulty with: Speaking (expressive aphasia), Understanding speech (receptive aphasia), reading, writing, using numbers, dealing with money and telling the time.

There are several different types of aphasia, which affect people in different ways. The most common types of aphasia are:

• Global Aphasia- Severe difficulty with understanding and producing language
• Brocas Aphasia- difficulty producing language with relatively strong understanding
• Wernickes Aphasia: difficulty understanding with effortless and error filled speech.

Another type of aphasia is primary progressive aphasia (PPA), which unlike the other types of aphasia is degenerative, meaning it gets worse over time. Many people with dementia may suffer from this.

Symptom checklist

– Does it sometimes feel like your family member or friend knows what they want to say but can’t find the right words, or do not say a single word but only make sounds, or can only say single words or short phrases but have difficulty producing sentences?

– Do they often miss out the words or say them in the wrong order, not making sense getting stuck on a single sound, or word, repeating it over again?

– Do you often find that they don’t seem to understand much of what people say, especially in a group?

– When giving them the newspaper or magazine, do you often question why they are able to read headlines but not read the rest of the text, or they can write but not read what they have written?

– Do they often say or show you through their behaviour that they do not recognise the written words?

– Do your loved ones have difficulty with writing, forming letters, correct spellings or feel that they can’t write at all?