Dysphasia
Published: Jul 17, 2023
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Updated: Aug 4, 2023
Written by Oseh Mathias
Founder, SpeechFit
The terms "aphasia" and "dysphasia" are often used interchangeably in common language, but there are slight differences between them in the medical context. Both of these terms refer to conditions that affect a person's ability to communicate, but they differ in terms of their severity[1].
Aphasia is a condition that interferes with a person's ability to use or understand language[2]. It's often a result of damage to parts of the brain that are involved in language comprehension and speech[3]. Aphasia can affect one's ability to speak, to understand spoken words, to read, or to write[4]. There are different types of aphasia, and the specific symptoms can vary depending on the part of the brain that's affected and the extent of the damage[5]. Stroke is the most common cause of aphasia, but other conditions, like brain tumors, brain injuries, or neurological diseases, can cause it as well[6].
Dysphasia is often used to describe milder forms of language impairment, where the disruption in communication is not as severe as in aphasia. However, this distinction is not universally accepted, and many clinicians and researchers use the two terms interchangeably[7][8].
Oseh is a software engineer, entrepreneur and founder of SpeechFit. Oseh is passionate about improving health and wellbeing outcomes for neurodiverse people and healthcare providers alike.
References
Dickey, L., Kagan, A., Lindsay, M. P., Fang, J., Rowland, A., & Black, S. (2010). Incidence and profile of inpatient stroke-induced aphasia in Ontario, Canada. Archives of physical medicine and rehabilitation, 91(2), 196-202.
Kiran, S., & Thompson, C. K. (2003). The role of semantic complexity in treatment of naming deficits: Training semantic categories in fluent aphasia by controlling exemplar typicality. Journal of Speech, Language, and Hearing Research, 46(3), 608-622.
Price, C. J. (2010). The anatomy of language: a review of 100 fMRI studies published in 2009. Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences, 1191(1), 62-88.
Pedersen, P. M., Vinter, K., & Olsen, T. S. (2004). Aphasia after stroke: type, severity and prognosis: the Copenhagen aphasia study. Cerebrovascular Diseases, 17(1), 35-43.
Robson, H., Grube, M., Lambon Ralph, M. A., Griffiths, T. D., & Sage, K. (2013). Fundamental deficits of auditory perception in Wernicke's aphasia. Cortex, 49(7), 1808-1822.
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(5), 413-422.
Pedersen, P. M., Vinter, K., & Olsen, T. S. (2004). Aphasia after stroke: type, severity and prognosis: the Copenhagen aphasia study. Cerebrovascular Diseases, 17(1), 35-43.
Code, C. (1987). Language, aphasia and the right hemisphere. Chichester: Wiley