Language is much more than words. It involves our ability to recognize and use words and sentences. Much of this capability resides in the left hemisphere of the brain. When a person has a stroke or other injury that affects the left side of the brain, it typically disrupts their ability to use language. Through language, we communicate our inner thoughts, desires, intentions and motivations, understand what others say to us, listen, speak, write, read, comment and interchange among people. People who suffer with brain damage suffer impaired language production, also known as Broca’s aphasia or nonfluent aphasia.
Aphasia is caused by damage to one or more of the language
areas of the brain. Many times, the cause of the brain injury is a stroke. A
stroke occurs when blood is unable to reach a part of the brain. Brain cells
die when they do not receive their normal supply of blood, which carries oxygen
and important nutrients. Other causes of brain injury are severe blows to the
head, brain tumors, brain infections, and other conditions that affect the
brain. Men and women are equally affected. According to the National
Aphasia Association, approximately 80,000 individuals acquire aphasia each year from
strokes. About one million people in the United States currently have aphasia.
Aphasia can have tragic consequences. People who suffer from
Broca’s Aphasia usually have comprehension deficits when the meaning of the
sentence depends on prepositions, word endings, or unusual word order. Agrammatic,
or telegraphic, speech means that the person with aphasia speaks mostly in
nouns, and produces only a few words at a time. An example would be,
“Well…..cat and…..up……..um, well, um…forget it”. The communication is non-fluent,
meaning that their average sentences are five or fewer real words. This may be
compounded by apraxia. Writing is typically similarly affected, and reading may
be reduced.
For example, imagine going to a foreign country and hearing
people speaking all around you. You would know they were using words and
sentences. You might even have an elemental knowledge of that language,
allowing you to recognize words here and there, but you would not have command
of the language and couldn’t follow most conversation. This is what life is
like for people with comprehension problems.
This video below shows the conditions that Aphasia patients
suffer. At the age of 18, Sarah had a stroke which lead her to have Broca’s Aphasia.
In this video you would see how Sarah struggles to complete sentences, pronounce
certain words, and struggles to remember words and even her name.
It is crazy to read the statistic,which mentions that 1 million people are currently suffering from Aphasia in the U.S. These are so many people who are not able to express themselves or communicate properly. After whatching the video you can clearly see the consequences and the results of suffering an aphasia. The comprehension is present, but what is lacking is the ability to create the sentences and think of particular words. It is scary to think that someone so young can have a stroke. It is also scary to think that an aphasia can occur from a stroke. Not being able to communicate with either friends or family members must be so stressful and lonely at times. Watching the video three years later after Sarah's stroke shows that something as intense as an aphasia can really never be reversed. There is much improvement, but the problem is still present. Very interesting topic, which really got me thinking and which makes me glad to be able to communicate normally.
ReplyDeleteWow. I had heard and only barely read about Broca's aphasia before, but had never actually imagined what it's really like. The video really took me away. It doesn't seem as though her voice has changed, she doesn't stutter, and in the beginning I kept waiting to hear her complete the sentences because her voice is just so beautiful so you almost don't remember she has a communication problem.
ReplyDeleteI like the analogy of hearing different languages all around you and not being able to repeat them in the same way although there is some comprehension. I experienced that while studying abroad, and although it can be funny at times because you don't know what you may be saying, it will get very frustrating not being able to communicate with everyone around you and can make one even sad if you don't pick it up.