Aphasia

In Wednesday’s lecture, Dr. Sévigny, mentioned several disorders that effect how people comprehend and use language. Aphasia is one of the disorders that was mentioned and is caused primarily by strokes or other types of brain trauma. People with aphasia have trouble finding words or expressing themselves even though they understand what they want to say. For example, they can see a book, know that books are read, but cannot express the word “book”. People with aphasia also have trouble comprehending what others are saying.

In episode 303 of Grey’s Anatomy, that aired on October 5, 2006, a patient who underwent brain surgery to help his seizures, came out of the surgery, and showed signs of aphasia. He was unable to identify the names of his family members, and he could not identify the word “cup” with the object. His wife was heartbroken, and the patient himself was confused and disoriented.

This disorder must be extremely frustrating, because the people have used language to communicate throughout their lives. Suddenly, they cannot express how they feel or what they want. It must feel isolating to be stripped of the ability to communicate. They would be so incredibly disconnected from the outside world because they could no longer understand TV, read a newspaper or book, listen to the radio, or carry on a conversation. We as humans use communication so often in our lives that we do not even realize we are doing it. This is why it would also be hard for friends and family of the people with aphasia, because they cannot communicate the way they used to with their loved ones. What was once effortless becomes a struggle. It is extremely difficult for people to recover from this disorder and become functional members of society. They must undergo speech pathology tests and therapy to relearn the art of communication from scratch. This shows that the loss of speech can be just as debilitating as some physical disabilities. Which begs the question, what would you do without communication?

Speech and Language Disorders. 2006. American Speech-Language-Hearing Association. October 8th, 2006. <http://www.asha.org/public/speech/AdultSandL/Aphasia_info.htm>

“The Time Has Come Today” Grey’s Anatomy. ABC, October 5th, 2006.