What is aphasia?

Aphasia is a language problem caused by damage to the parts of the brain that handle language - most often after a stroke, but also after a head injury or with some forms of dementia ^{[National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders (NIDCD) 2024]} .

Importantly, aphasia affects language, not intelligence. The person still has their thoughts, memories, and personality. The difficulty is in getting words in and out ^{[National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders (NIDCD) 2024]} .

What it can affect

Aphasia can make any of these harder:

• Speaking - finding words, or putting them in order
• Understanding - following speech, especially when it is fast or long
• Reading
• Writing

Each person is different. Some mostly struggle to speak but understand well; others find understanding harder. Many have a mix.

The main types

• Non-fluent (expressive) aphasia - the person knows what they want to say but speech is effortful and short.
• Fluent (receptive) aphasia - speech flows but may not make sense, and understanding is harder.
• Global aphasia - severe difficulty across speaking and understanding.

These are general groupings, not strict boxes ^{[National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders (NIDCD) 2024]} .

The hopeful part

Speech and language therapy helps. A large review of trials found that therapy improves communication, reading, writing, and spoken language compared with no therapy ^{[Brady MC 2016]} . Recovery can continue over a long time, and regular, meaningful practice matters.

Why aphasia happens

Aphasia results from damage to the language areas of the brain, most often on the left side. Common causes include:

• Stroke - by far the most frequent cause.
• Traumatic brain injury.
• Brain tumours or infections.
• Progressive conditions, in some forms of dementia.

Everyday impact

Aphasia touches many parts of daily life beyond conversation:

• Ordering in a cafe or answering the phone.
• Reading letters, menus, or messages.
• Filling in forms or writing a note.
• Confidence and mood in social situations.

Ways to support communication

• Reduce background noise and give plenty of time.
• Use short sentences and one idea at a time.
• Offer choices instead of open questions.
• Welcome gestures, drawing, writing, and pointing.

Keeping hope realistic

Recovery varies from person to person, but practice matters and improvement can continue for years. Meaningful, regular practice - on words and tasks that matter to daily life - tends to help most.

Next steps

See communication strategies for aphasia, start a step in Practice, or try a language game like naming pictures.