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National Aphasia Association
Wednesday, June 1, 2011
By: Ellayne Ganzfried
National Aphasia Association
Non-profit Organization
June is National Aphasia Awareness Month. Aphasia is an acquired communication
disorder that impairs a person’s ability
to process language but does not affect intelligence. People with aphasia have difficulty speaking
and understanding others as well as reading and writing. The most common cause of aphasia is stroke
(about 25-40% of stroke survivors acquire aphasia). It can also result from
head injury, brain tumor or other neurological causes.
Understanding, patience and a few commonsense strategies will help
family, friends, caregivers and the public communicate with people with
aphasia:
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Have the person’s attention before you speak.
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Minimize or eliminate background noise (TV, radio, other people).
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Keep your own voice at a normal level.
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Keep communication simple, but adult.
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Give them time to speak, resist the urge to finish sentences or offer
words.
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Communicate with drawings, gestures, writing and facial
expressions.
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Confirm that you are communicating successfully with “yes” and “no”
questions.
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Praise all attempts to speak and downplay any errors.
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Engage in normal activities whenever possible.
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Encourage independence,
avoid being overprotective.
The National Aphasia
Association (NAA) is a consumer-focused, not-for-profit organization that was
founded in 1987 as the first national organization dedicated to advocating for
persons with aphasia and their families.
Resources include:
NAA
Hotline (800-922-4622) helps over 5,000 families a year.
NAA
National Registry links to over 440 aphasia US support groups and
210 state representatives.
www.aphasia.org helping an estimated 300,000 families a year.
The
Aphasia Handbook: A Guide for Stroke and Brain Injury Survivors and Their
Families - this award-winning, internationally acclaimed book is a
user-friendly, easy-to-understand resource.
Aphasia
Awareness Training for Emergency Responders Project
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