Aphasia

Aphasia is an acquired language disorder that impairs the ability to produce and understand spoken and written language. It most commonly results from stroke, traumatic brain injury, brain tumors, or progressive neurological conditions. Aphasia does not affect intelligence; rather, it disrupts the neural pathways responsible for language processing, leaving cognitive abilities largely intact.

There are several types of aphasia, including Broca's aphasia (characterized by effortful, non-fluent speech with relatively preserved comprehension), Wernicke's aphasia (fluent but often meaningless speech with impaired comprehension), and global aphasia (severe impairment across all language modalities). The type and severity depend on the location and extent of brain damage.

Speech-language pathologists play a critical role in the assessment and rehabilitation of individuals with aphasia. Evidence-based treatment approaches focus on restoring language function, compensatory strategy training, and supporting communication partners to facilitate more effective interactions in everyday life.