SPECIAL SECTION
Neurotrauma
IMAGINE A WORLD
WITHOUT WORDS
WHEN BRAIN INJURIES INTERFERE WITH THE ABILITY TO COMMUNICATE ///
BY SOPHIA BONG
A
community’ s language can be expressed in writing, speech and sign language. Language allows us to communicate our thoughts and feelings and turn them into words for others to understand. But if the intricate web of the language control centers – the brain’ s switchboard, so to speak – becomes disrupted by stroke, trauma or dementia, people can find themselves at a literal loss for words to express their thoughts or understand the thoughts of others. This is what it can be like for a person with aphasia.
A person stricken with aphasia remains as intelligent as they were prior to the disorder, but may have a variety of their language skills affected when trying to communicate with others. Imagine being surrounded by people speaking a foreign language to you that you do not understand. You, in turn, speak to them in a language that they don’ t understand. That is similar to what a person with aphasia experiences – a lack of word comprehension.
One million people in the U. S. currently are diagnosed with aphasia; eighty thousand new cases are diagnosed each year.
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Innovative Health- Winter 2017