Helping people in West Berkshire rebuild confidence and communication
What is Aphasia?
Aphasia is a disorder that is caused by damage to areas of the brain that are responsible for language.
Aphasia can be caused by a stroke or a traumatic brain injury.
For most people areas in the left side of the brain are affected.
Aphasia affects people in different ways. Here are some examples:
Not being able to say the right words, speaking very slowly or with long pauses.
Finding it very difficult to speak, or speaking in very short or incomplete sentences.
Repeating, mixing up or missing out words.
Making up words or sounds.
Not being able to understand what other people are saying, particularly if you cannot see them.
Difficulty with reading or writing.
Other disorders often occur alongside aphasia:
Apraxia makes it hard or impossible to move your mouth and tongue to form words.
Dysarthria means that the muscles used for speech are weak. This often means that speech is slow and slurred.
Dysphagia is a swallowing disorder that can significantly impact speech and communication.
Primary Progressive Aphasia (PPA) is a condition where language capabilities become slowly and progressively worse. It is usually linked to dementia.
At Speakability we hope to help you, your family and carers by coming together with other people who also have aphasia and we all support each other.