Today's Word is 'Aphasia'

According to the National Aphasia Association, an estimated one million people in the United States have acquired aphasia, or about one in every two-hundred and fifty people. With that many individuals affected by this devastating language disorder wouldn't you think that more people in the general population would have a better understanding of what aphasia is all about? Since my husband's stroke I've been hard pressed to find anyone outside of the medical profession who has even heard the word 'aphasia' much less understand that it's not a psychological illness or mental retardation. So, today's word---let's all say it together---is 'aphasia.' Aphasia is a condition, not a disease, and it's produced by a brain injury such as a stroke or traumatic head injury. Strokes are the most common cause of acquired aphasia.

Even people within the stroke community have a hard time absorbing the facts about aphasia, that there are many types and degrees of severity depending on the exact location and size of the damage in the brain. Or in other words, all aphasia is not equal. Each person who has it is unique. Estimates from the National Aphasia Association say that approximately half of the people with symptoms of aphasia have transient aphasia and will recover completely within the first few days after a stroke or head injury. In the other half, for whose individuals with aphasia that lasts longer than three months, a complete recovery is highly unlikely. There is no magic pill, no hi-tech treatment or surgery that can cure aphasia.