Aphasia is an invisible disability that affects communication.

It can vary in severity and can change over time.

Aphasia comes in all forms and shapes: some people may experience partial or total loss of speech. Others may be unable to read, write or understand numbers.

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Stroke is the most common cause of aphasia.

Aphasia can develop following brain injury, caused by traumatic accident or when the brain is deprived of oxygen during stroke.

It may also be caused by brain tumour, neurosurgery or a brain infection.

About half of the people who show signs of aphasia have temporary or transient aphasia and recover completely within a few days.

For others, the symptoms may be present for many years, or forever.

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If you have aphasia you may find it hard to:

speak

read

write

recognising the names of objects

understand what people say

use numbers

Despite aphasia, your intellect remains intact.

You may also have problems in:

answering the phone

watching TV or listening to the radio.

There often is a common experience of feeling cut off, frustration, social isolation and being exluded from a world dominated by instant / fast communication, with no time and no understanding of aphasia.

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