Aphasia is a condition caused by injury to the language centres of the brain. Injury to the Wernicke’s area and the Broca’s area of the brain lead to the two main forms of aphasia – receptive and expressive.
The term dysphasia, which means a partial loss of language, is commonly used interchangeably with aphasia.
The complexities of language mean that the observable outcomes can be confusing to families and friends.
For example, some people:
- can read some words but not others
- can struggle with writing or recognising all the letters of the alphabet
- might be able to read but have difficulty processing the information or be unable to recognise some words
- may struggle with remembering the information given in simple sentences
- might be able to write but not read
- speak about and be involved in one topic but be unable to engage at all in another