Aphasia is a disorder that results from damage to portions of the brain that are
responsible for language. For most people, these are areas on the left side
(hemisphere) of the brain. Aphasia usually occurs suddenly, often as the result
of a stroke or head injury, but it may also develop slowly, as in the case of a
brain tumor, an infection, or dementia. The disorder impairs the expression and understanding of language as well as reading and writing. Aphasia may co-occur with speech disorders such as dysarthria or apraxia of speech, which also result from brain damage.
Who has aphasia?
Anyone can acquire aphasia, including children, but most people who have aphasia are middle-aged or older. 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.
What causes 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.
A brain tumor can be either benign (non cancerous) or malignant (cancerous), primary, or secondary. Causes and risk factors include age, gender, family history, and exposure to chemicals. Symptoms range from headaches, leg and feet numbness to seizures. Treatment is dependant upon the type and location of the brain tumor.
A stroke results from impaired oxygen delivery to brain cells via the bloodstream. A stroke is also referred to as a CVA, or cerebrovascular incident. Symptoms of stroke include: sudden numbness or weakness of the face, arm or leg. Sudden confusion, trouble speaking or understanding. Sudden trouble seeing in one or both eyes, sudden trouble walking, dizziness, or loss of balance, and/or sudden severe headache with no known cause. A TIA, or transient ischemic attack is a short-lived temporary impairment of the brain caused by loss of blood supply. Stroke is a medical emergency.
Dementia is a significant loss of intellectual abilities such as memory capacity, severe enough to interfere with social or occupational functioning. There are different criteria classification schemes for dementias such as cortical, subcortical, progressive, primary, and secondary dementias. Other conditions and medication reactions can also cause dementia. Dementia is diagnosed based on a certain set of criteria. Treatment for dementia is generally focused on the symptoms of the disease.
When a portion of the brain loses blood supply, through a blood clot or embolus, a transient ischemic attack (TIA, mini-stroke) may occur. If the symptoms do not resolve, a stroke most likely has occurred. Symptoms of TIA include: confusion, weakness, lethargy, and loss of function to one side of the body. Risk factors for TIA include vascular disease, smoking, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, and diabetes. Treatment depends upon the severity of the TIA, and whether it resolves.
In the United States, head injuries are one of the most common causes of death and disability. Head injuries due to bleeding are generally classified by the location of the blood within the scull, these include: epidural hematoma, subdural hematoma, subarachnoid bleed, intracranial bleed, sheer injury, edema, and skull fracture. Some common symptoms of a head injury include: vomiting, bleeding from the ear, speech difficulties, paralysis, difficulty swallowing, and body numbness. Treatment of a head injury depends on the type and severity of the injury.
Learning disabilities can cause an individual to have trouble learning and using skills such as reading, listening, writing, reading, speaking, reasoning, and performing mathematics. There is no cure for learning disabilities. Parents and teachers working together to properly diagnose learning disabilities can properly plan a course of education. For some, medication may be appropriate as complimentary treatment.
Landau-Kleffner syndrome (LKS, infantile acquired aphasia, acquired epileptic aphasia, or aphasia with convulsive disorder), a childhood disorder that occurs between the ages of 3 and 7, is characterized by the sudden loss of speech, epileptic seizures, depression, hyperactivity, and aggressiveness.
Learning disability is a general term that describes specific kinds of
learning problems. A learning disability can cause a person to have trouble
learning and using certain skills. The skills most often affected are:
reading,
writing,
listening,
speaking,
reasoning, and
doing math.
Learning disabilities (LD) vary from person to person. One person with
learning disabilities may
not have the same kind of learning problems as another person with learning
disabilities. One person may have trouble with reading and writing. Another person with
learning disabilities
may have problems with understanding math. Still another person may have trouble
in each of these areas, as well as with understanding what people are saying.
Researchers think that learning disabilities are caused by differences in how
a person's brain works and how...
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