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What is aphasia?

Aphasia is a communication disorder resulting from the acquired impairment of language modalities, affecting the participation and quality of life of a person with aphasia and the quality of their relationships with family and friends.

Aphasia masks the skills of those who present it, and affects its functioning in all relationships, roles and activities in life, influencing their inclusion and social connection, access to information and services, the equality of rights and their well-being in the family, in the community and in the culture.

The person with aphasia may have difficulty expressing himself when speaks, also in understanding what the others say and/or in reading and writing. Aphasia can also make it harder for the person to understand and/or use gestures. Aphasia doesn’t affect intelligence.

The main cause of aphasia is stroke, with 20% to 40% of strokes resulting in acute aphasia. However, other possible causes are: brain tumors, traumatic brain injuries (TBI), infections or other brain injuries.

In cases where aphasia appears due to a degenerative disease, we are facing another type of aphasia, Primary Progressive Aphasia (PPA).

In Portugal, at the moment, three Portuguese suffer a stroke, of which two thirds survive (data from SPAVC). Half of stroke survivors may experience aphasia for life. In this context, IPA estimates that around 8000 new cases arise in Portugal every year.

It is known that in the USA there are almost two million people with aphasia, more than 150 000 in Spain, 250 000 in France, and 370 000 in England. With Portugal having one of the highest stroke rates in the European Union, through statistical extrapolations, the IPA estimates that the prevalence of people with aphasia in Portugal is around 40 000.

Portugal is the sixth country in Europe that most spends on cerebral vascular disease. The costs, direct and indirect, reach, according to a 2013 report, 2.5 million euros annually.

References
  1. Brown, K., Worrall, L., Davidson, B. & Howe, T. (2012). Living successfully with aphasia: A qualitative meta-analysis of the perspectives of individuals with aphasia, family members, and speech-language pathologists. International Journal of Speech-Language Pathology, 14: 141-155.
  2. Engelter, S.T., Gostynski, M., Papa, S., Frei, M., Born, C., Ajdacic-Gross, V., et al. (2006). Epidemiology of aphasia attributable to first ischemic stroke: incidence, severity, fluency, etiology, and thrombolysis. Stroke, 37: 1379–84.
  3. Garcia, E. & Connor, L. T. (2011). Understanding Barriers and Facilitators to Participation in People With Aphasia: A Qualitative Approach. Dissertation. Washington University School of Medicine.
  4. Grawburg, M. Howe, T., Worrall, L. & Scarinci, N. (2013). A qualitative investigation into third-party functioning and third-party disability in aphasia: Positive and negative experiences of family members of people with aphasia. Aphasiology, 27: 828-848.
  5. Hilari, K. (2011). The impact of stroke: Are people with aphasia different to those without? Disability and Reabilitation, 33: 211-218.
  6. Howe, T. J., Worrall, L. & Hickson, L, M. H. (2004). What is an aphasia-friendly environment?. Aphasiology 18: 1015-1037.
  7. Kagan, A. & Simmons-Mackie, N. (2013). From My Perspective: Changing the Aphasia Narrative. The ASHA Leader, Vol. 18, 6-8.
  8. Laska, A. C., Hellblom, A., Murray, V., Kahan, T. & Von Arbin, M. (2001). Aphasia in acute stroke and relation to outcome. Journal of Internal Medicine, 249: 413–422.
  9. Maia, A. (2013, Março 27). Portugal é o 6.º país que mais gasta com AVC. Diário de Notícias.
  10. Michallet, B., S. Tétreault, et al. (2003). “The consequences of severe aphasia on the spouses of aphasic people: A description of the adaptation process.” Aphasiology 17: 835-859.
  11. Papathannasiou, I. & Coppens, P. (2017). Aphasia and Related Neurogenic Communication Disorders. (2ª ed). Jones & Bartlett Learning.
  12. Rogalski, E. J. & Khayum, B. (2018). A Life Participation Approach to Primary Progressive Aphasia Intervention. Thieme Medical Publishers, Inc. 284-296
  13. Simmons-Mackie, N., & Kagan, A. (2007). Application of the ICF in aphasia. Seminars in Speech and Language, 28: 244–253.
  14. Simmons-Mackie N., Worrall L., Shiggins C., Isaksen J., McMenamin R., Rose T., Guo Y. E. & Wallace S. J. (2019). Beyond the statistics: a research agenda in aphasia awareness. Aphasiology, 34: 458-471.
  15. Fotiadou, D., Northcott, S., Chatzidaki, A. & Hilari, K. (2014). Aphasia blog talk: How does stroke and aphasia affect a person’s social relationships? Aphasiology, 28: 1281–1300

  16. Alborés, N., Attard, M., Worrall, L., Hersh, D., & Banszki, F. (2019). Information About Aphasia for the National Disability Insurance Agency. Australian Aphasia Association. Retirado da Web: https://aphasia.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/Aphasia-and-the-NDIA-PDFv1.0.pdf

Curso
Online

Curso para pessoas com afasia e familiares

Programa Essencial

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Curso
Online

Curso para pessoas com afasia e familiares

Programa Essencial

Grátis 50 inscrições