aphasia
[ah-fa´zhah] a type of
speech disorder consisting of a defect or loss of the power of expression by speech, writing, or signs, or of comprehension of spoken or written language, due to disease or injury of the brain centers, such as after
stroke syndrome on the left side.
Patient Care. Aphasia is a complex phenomenon manifested in numerous ways. The recovery period is often very long, even months or years. Because communication is such a vital part of everyday living, loss of the ability to communicate with words, whether in speaking or writing, can profoundly affect the personality and behavior of a patient. Although aphasic persons usually require extensive treatment by specially trained speech patholigists or therapists, all persons concerned with the care of the patient should practice techniques that will help minimize frustration and improve communication with such patients.
auditory aphasia loss of ability to comprehend spoken language. Called also
word deafness.
conduction aphasia aphasia due to a lesion of the pathway between the sensory and motor speech centers.
fluent aphasia that in which speech is well articulated (usually 200 or more words per minute) and grammatically correct but is lacking in content and meaning.
global aphasia total aphasia involving all the functions that go to make up speech and communication.
jargon aphasia that with utterance of meaningless phrases, either neologisms or incoherently arranged known words.
receptive aphasia inability to understand written, spoken, or tactile speech symbols, due to disease of the auditory and visual word centers, as in word blindness. See also
motor aphasia. Called also
logamnesia and
sensory or
Wernicke's aphasia.
Miller-Keane Encyclopedia and Dictionary of Medicine, Nursing, and Allied Health, Seventh Edition. © 2003 by Saunders, an imprint of Elsevier, Inc. All rights reserved.