Aphasia

Aphasia

Aphasia is a disturbance of the comprehension and formulation of language caused by dysfunction in specific brain regions. This class of language disorder ranges from having difficulty remembering words to losing the ability to speak, read, or write. This also affects visual language such as sign language. Aphasia is usually linked to brain damage, most commonly by stroke.

Acute aphasia disorders usually develop quickly as a result of head injury or stroke, and progressive forms of aphasia develop slowly from a brain tumour, infection, or dementia. The area and extent of brain damage or atrophy will determine the type of aphasia and its symptoms. Aphasia types include expressive, receptive, conduction, anomic, global, primary progressive and many others. Medical evaluations for the disorder range from clinical screenings by a neurologist to extensive tests by a speech-language pathologist. Most acute aphasia patients can recover some or most skills by working with a speech-language pathologist. This rehabilitation can take two or more years and is most effective when begun quickly. Only a small minority will recover without therapy, such as those suffering a mini-stroke. Improvement varies widely, depending on the aphasia's cause, type, and severity. Recovery also depends on the patient's age, health, motivation, handedness, and educational level.

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aphasia