Aphasia is the partial or complete loss of skills such as speaking, understanding speech, naming, repeating, reading or writing as a result of damage to speech centers in the brain. It occurs due to cerebrovascular diseases, brain hemorrhages, brain tumors, head trauma, infectious diseases. It may also be accompanied by memory and attention disorders. After aphasia, the person's planning, performing simple activities, problem solving and decision-making skills may also be affected. A person with aphasia may have difficulties in determining where and how to start a job and in establishing the necessary steps to fulfill that job. are divided into two main groups.
The main problem in fluent aphasia is the difficulty in understanding. In reclusive aphasia, the difficulty in understanding is in the background. The patient has difficulty in expressing himself, finding and saying the words he wants to say.
Many different types of aphasia have been identified under these two main headings. Auditory comprehension, speaking, naming, repetition, reading and writing skills were affected at different levels according to the types of aphasia. It is not possible to talk about the rehabilitation process. The healing process and degree; It shows individual differences according to the location of the damage, its prevalence, severity, the patient's age, gender, education level, motivation and social environment, the type of aphasia, the causative condition, the duration of the event and the therapy received.
Also, pre-morbid intelligence level, communication skills, presence and degree of non-linguistic perceptual disorders, emotional balance before and after the illness are important for the effectiveness of the treatment.
A positive personality and strong family support positively affect the course of the treatment process. Being young, female, or left-handedness are factors that increase the likelihood of recovery in patients with aphasia who receive treatment.
What is Language Assessment?
Language assessment in patients with aphasia is quite detailed. Each component of the language needs to be tested individually and from every angle.
A language assessment; spontaneous speech, naming, repetition, hear It should cover all areas where you can gather linguistic information, such as comprehension, speech production, reading and writing.
The fluency in speaking, the number of words in the speech output, the ability to initiate the speech, the errors related to the meaning of the syllables or words in the words used, the pauses for word finding, hesitations or the spoofs caused by not being able to find a word, the difficulties in making a sound should be evaluated within spontaneous speech.
What are the Benefits of Speech Therapy?
Various degrees of spontaneous recovery can be seen in aphasia without any treatment support. However, this improvement is limited. It is known that therapeutic support is much more beneficial in the development of speech. Language, speaking and communication skills are supported with the treatment program prepared according to individual characteristics.
The purpose of rehabilitation in aphasic patients is to help people re-learn the skills they have lost and to teach people new skills that will enable them to overcome their permanent disabilities.
Who Is Interested in Rehabilitation?
People with aphasia after brain injury Speech and language therapists deal with the development of communication skills. The speech and language therapist first evaluates the patient with appropriate tests and determines in which areas the patient has difficulties.
Afterwards, she starts working individually with the patient within the treatment program prepared to eliminate the difficulties in the identified areas. Sometimes group therapies are also applied in accordance with the developmental status of the patients. Group therapies aim to show patients that there are other people with the same problems as them and to help them get motivated.
Language and speech therapy can be taken starting from the first days following brain damage. In these therapies, it is aimed to eliminate the communication difficulties experienced by the patient as much as possible. How long after the illness started therapy, the patient's participation in therapy and the frequency of the work done and the frequency of therapy cause differences in the healing process. Speech therapy should be started as early as possible. The patient's gene Therapy can be started after l health status is stable and when the level of communication (understanding what is being said) is achieved.
Timely and concentrated speech therapy has been scientifically proven to be effective in restoring speech skills. It is very useful to receive therapy support during this period, especially since the first 6-12 months will be a rapid development.
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