How much do you really know about aphasia?
Here's a fun way to test your knowledge and teach others about aphasia!
Please answer either
true (T) or false (F) for each statement. 1. Most people are familiar with aphasia. TRUEFALSE
2. Aphasia means an individual has difficulty
retrieving words for speech and usually has some problems
reading, writing and understanding spoken language. TRUEFALSE
3. The cause of aphasia is usually due to a heart
attack. TRUEFALSE
4. If people have aphasia they will always have
significant memory loss as well. TRUEFALSE
5. Aphasia is more prevalent than Parkinson's
Disease or Muscular Dystrophy. TRUEFALSE
6. A person with aphasia may have no noticeable
physical impairment. TRUEFALSE
7. All individuals with aphasia have very similar
symptoms of the same approximate severity. TRUEFALSE
8. Although most people with aphasia are older
than 50 years of age, it is not unusual for younger
people to acquire this disability. TRUEFALSE
9. Some individuals with aphasia return to work,
however, most are forced to retire or change jobs and
work in a modified capacity. TRUEFALSE
10. Recovery from aphasia is usually complete
within six months of treatment. TRUEFALSE
Answers
1. FALSE-- Most people have never heard of aphasia.
The general public frequently misinterprets the difficulties
an individual with aphasia is experiencing and
may react as though the person is psychologically ill
or mentally retarded. Feelings of social isolation with
resulting emotional effects are common to individuals
with aphasia.
2.TRUE-- Aphasia is an acquired communication
disorder that impairs an individual's ability to use language.
The primary symptom is an inability to express oneself
when speaking, however, in some cases, reading and writing
or understanding of speech can be the more impaired language
modality.
3.FALSE-- The most frequent cause of aphasia is a stroke (but, one can have a stroke without acquiring aphasia). It can also result from head injury,
cerebral tumor or other neurological causes. Consequently,
the onset is usually sudden, although rare cases of progressive aphasia in adults and childhood/developmental aphasia have been documented.
4.FALSE-- Although a person with aphasia can
have difficulty retrieving words and names, memory of
situations, appointments, people and general knowledge
remain relatively intact. The ability to access ideas
and thoughts via language is disrupted.
5.TRUE -- It has been estimated that one million Americans
or 1 in 250 people have acquired aphasia. About
2/3 of these are the result of strokes and 1/3 are head
injured persons.
6.TRUE-- But most people with aphasia also have
right sided weakness or paralysis of the leg and arm.
This occurs because the left side of the brain is the
side of the brain generally damaged when a person has aphasia, and it also controls movements on the
right side of the body.
7.FALSE-- There are many types of aphasia. They
are generally classified as either non-fluent or fluent.
Specific symptoms can vary greatly; however the commonly
shared symptom is an impaired ability to use language.
The severity of aphasia symptoms can range from
very mild to very severe. When there is almost total impairment
of all the language modalities (i.e., speaking, writing,
reading, listening) the condition is referred to as global aphasia.
8.TRUE-- A widespread misconception is that only older
people suffer strokes. In fact, young adults as well as
children can sustain strokes, but in such instances it
is usually secondary to a pre-existing medical condition.
9.TRUE-- There are very few jobs that do not require
speech and language skills. Individuals with mild or even
moderate aphasia are sometimes able to return to
work, but often with some changes in job responsibilities
and a reduced work load.
10.FALSE -- Approximately half of those who initially
show symptoms of aphasia recover completely within
the first few hours or days. This is known as transient aphasia. If the symptoms of aphasia persist
beyond the first 2-3 months after a stroke, a complete
recovery is unlikely. Increased functioning is usually
achieved through spontaneous recovery and speech therapy.
Recovery is a slow process that usually requires a minimum
of a year of treatment including helping the individual
and family understand and adjust to long term deficits.
