Aphasia: 10 Things You Should Know

Aphasia is a catch-all word that describes difficulty in speaking. Aphasia can range from mild difficulty in finding and expressing words or completing sentences to a complete inability to speak.. It is a significant finding in a physical assessment. The patient who presents with a new onset of aphasia has a concerning medical issue. Here are ten things to keep in mind the next time you encounter a patient who is having difficulty speaking. 1) Aphasia can be both receptive or expressive. If someone is having difficulty speaking they are said to be experiencing expressive aphasia. Receptive aphasia is a difficulty in understanding spoken words. A patient who has both receptive and expressive aphasia is said to have conductive aphasia (or global aphasia). 2) The primary area of the brain that assists us with our speech is known as Broca’s area. Word associations are also made using Wernikie’s area. Most all aphasia is caused by a disruption of the brain’s ability to process information in one of these two area. 3) The primary concern with acute, new-onset aphasia is stroke but it can also be caused by brain masses or lesions, head injury, vascular abnormalities and dementia. 4) Aphasic patients are not necessarily confused. Most aphasia occurs in the absence of confusion and it can be extraordinarily frustrating (and frightening) for the patient. Consider that every time the patient is unable to speak (or even write) there is something that they desperately wa...
Source: The EMT Spot - Category: Emergency Medicine Authors: Tags: EMT Source Type: blogs