Aphasia: A loss of words, not thoughts

Language and the ability to communicate are essential aspects of our lives that we often take for granted. This video examines what it is like to live with "aphasia," a communication disorder that can occur after brain injury, most commonly stroke. Aphasia can affect a person's ability to speak, understand spoken words, read, and write. Through interviews with Maria, Peter, and Robert, three survivors of various brain injuries that have been kind enough to share their experiences living with aphasia, we hope to give you new insights into this common but not well-known disorder. Most importantly, aphasia does not affect intelligence, only communication.

Resources - For Canada and Ontario:

Hamilton, King Street East, Location: 905-544-4550
Hamilton, Good Shepherd, Location: 905-525-1181
Flamborough Location: 905-689-5244

Private speech-language pathology services:

Waterloo Wellington Regional Aphasia Program (WWRAP): Therapeutic conversation groups in Guelph, Waterloo, Kitchener, Fergus, Elmira, Erin, and Cambridge. WWRAP aims to develop a person's communication skills.
Phone: [phone] Ext. 4357

West GTA Stroke Network - Community Resources: Downloadable community resource book with a listing of stroke resources available for residents of the West GTA.

March of Dimes - Aphasia and Communication Disabilities Program (ACDP): Services and mutual aid groups for people living with aphasia and other communication disabilities. Currently serving York and Simcoe Region, Durham Region, Peterborough area and the GTA.

The Healthline: Enter your community name or postal code to find health and community services in Ontario.

York-Durham Aphasia Centre: Find services and programs for people affected by aphasia, apraxia, dysarthria and other social communication disabilities.

Aphasia Institute: Find services and programs for people affected by aphasia.

Halton-Peel Community Aphasia Programs: This program focuses on effective communication. For information about the locations and referral process to programs offered in the Halton and Peel regions click on the link or call [phone].

You can find more information about resources in your own country through your doctor or online.

This video is made by McMaster Demystifying Medicine students Shreya Singh, Gurleen Bhogal, Abishna Jayasundararaja, and Alexandra Lengyel.

Copyright McMaster University 2019.

#DemystifyingMedicine

References:

Tippett, D. C., Niparko, J. K., & Hillis, A. E. (2014). Aphasia: Current Concepts in Theory and Practice. Journal of neurology & translational neuroscience, 2(1), 1042.

[GeneSavage]

Robert seems like such a kind, gentle man. Those who choose not be friends with him are missing out!

[XxJjxX]

Robert should be very proud of himself to be able to have gotten through that Q&A with such poise!

[eliannam.]

Explained with an example: let's say I want to say "the keys are on the table". But I can't remember the word table. I know what a table is, what it's used for and how it looks like. I can describe it, but the word "table" is just not there. Which is often frustrating, especially when people don't understand what I'm describing. Because I know I've got to say what I need to say quickly, before I get distracted and forget that I wanted the keys! When I'm talking about "that square furniture, where you seat and eat, has chairs around it..." etc, and you don't understand what I'm talking about, then you are the idiot, not me! 😛 so, when I get frustrated, I get frustrated with myself. Because I know I'm still in there, inside my mind, I'm still just as smart, but you can't see it. And I start mixing up my words, stuttering, not making sense. Then I pause, lose faith in humanity, and decide not to speak unless I find the right word. And then I forget what I wanted to say! 😂 And when you finally understand what word I'm looking for and you say the word "table", it's like the best thing that's happened to me all day! Table! Yes! I can now die happy! 😂

[melissaromero]

Bruce Willis sharing his diagnosis with the world is a blessing to so many of us.

[Muse.]

Yes exactly! She describes it perfectly! I went through it for the past 2 years from covid, inflammation in the brain!

[aqualungs]

This lady is an amazing listener and empath. I had a 5th concussion in 2019, I'm 43 now and that head injury messed me up for a while. I am saying sentences backwards and hard to get words or sentences out. Hard to write out thought even though I minors in English and excelled in writing. It's OK I still have lots to offer, but it is a struggle

[philochristos]

Scary stuff. Aphasia has been creeping up on me for years, gradually getting worse. There was no traumatic event that caused it. It's come on me slowly. It's just in the last three years that it's become a big issue. I can barely get through sentences sometimes, and it's becoming more normal for me to get stuck in the middle of a sentence because I can't think of a word. Sometimes I'll use the wrong word without even realizing I did it until I hear a recording of myself later.

[ME-xhzq]

I have exactly the same problems as the guy in red. I'm in my early 20s and don't remember any traumatic head injury. I have been diagnosed with dyslexia though

[eylam]

I actually find listening to the third guy quite calming and relaxing, because of the silences in between words. Quite the opposite of listening to people who sound like machine guns. Heartbreaking to hear that he lost all social life apart from family. Makes you think how we, as a species, focus entirely on verbal communication although, if you pause and think for a second, you realise that more often than not it is not words that make us bond with other human beings.

[TaraNaMhie]

Very helpful. Super nakatulong para lalo ko pang maintindihan ang kasalukuyang sakit ng tatay ko. Maraming salamat po What I can do now is to do my best to understand him in anyway. I love my dad so much

[ASHAH]

Life is tough with this! I can’t remember or hold on to conversations, words don’t mean anything to me! I use the wrong words in the wrong sentences. I can remember I fell off my bike and I blacked out but even prior to that I believe I had this.

[nadiasmithers]

Thank you very interesting. Much respect to those who took part. X

[tellyveevee]

Idk if I have Aphasia but the term tends to crop up a lot when I search on why I can't express myself properly. I tend to say the wrong things at times. I've asked "can I refurnish your water?" Meaning can I refill your water. Or "is your rig healthy?" As in does your rig work well?
I also tend to lose words in a sentence or speak slowly with long pauses.
I know I hit my head a few times as kid but I only started speaking strange when I was in high school.
I tend to forget a lot of what people say to me as well. If it's with my boss I'd repeat back what he asked from me to make sure we're on the same pages since I also get confused with instructions.

I know I have other mental health issues that could be contributing to it but it does concern me if I messed something up a long time ago and it's biting me in the butt now

[manoftheworld]

No! There is no word loss in aphasia! It's all about *retrieval!* It's rather like if you need a certain document for the IRS. You know you have it - but where is it?

[sebaplays]

Can you please help me, I have trouble speaking to my friends in class and I never know what to speak about and when I have something in my mind that I want to say it’s hard to say it for me and I don’t know if it’s aphasia

[brainbuilderspreschool]

Omggg it’s always hard for me to express what I am trying to say !
I tend to forget things DAILY
My brain feels tight when ever I attempt to get my thoughts out …
I’m always frustrated

[codechrist]

This is so sad! I'm praying for people with this illness!! Holy father in the name of Jesus please heal from this horrible medical condition 🙏

[shashankyadav]

Hello there, i found certain difficult to understand what ppl are trying to say and some time i can’t able to remember a spelling of an word, and can’t able to speak words in conversation, like in my mind ik what to speak but when it’s come to speak i forgot all the thing I don't having any stoke nor any Brain disease, should i need to consult with doctor if yes then which doctor u suggest?

[kitwayne]

Hi, I just found this. I've been wondering if I had aphasia but I could not find a good description or explanation of it. You mention several physical causes of aphasia, but could it be caused by mental trauma, like childhood abuse / C-PTSD?

[dnteatylwsnw]

i came here from a lecture and this shit fucking suscks, i didnt knew this actually was something but iwas exactly the guy in red this when on antipsychotic medications and i still have a soft version after going nuclear from diagnosed adhd and trauma, so this was cool to watch and see it is real