Aphasia is an acquired neurogenic language disorder resulting from an injury to the brain, most typically the left hemisphere, that affects all language modalities. Aphasia is not a single disorder, but instead is a family of disorders that involve varying degrees of impairment in four primary areas:
• Spoken language expression
• Spoken language comprehension
• Written expression
• Reading comprehension
At Northeast Rehabilitation Hospital, our Speech-Language Pathologists (SLPs) play a central role in the screening, assessment, diagnosis, and treatment of persons with aphasia. Our highly trained staff develop individualized treatment plans to address the specific areas of need identified during assessment as well as the specific goals identified by the person with aphasia and his or her family.
Our goals during the treatment for aphasia include:
- Restoring language abilities by addressing all impaired communication modalities and focusing on training in
those areas in which a person makes errors
Strengthening intact modalities and behaviors to support and augment communication
Compensating for language impairments by teaching strategies and by incorporating augmentative and
alternative methods of communication if they help to improve communication
Training family and caregivers to effectively communicate with persons with aphasia using communication
supports and strategies, in order to maximize communication competence - Educating persons with aphasia, their families, caregivers, and other significant persons about the nature of
spoken and/or written language disorders, the course of treatment, and prognosis for recovery.
For more information about our Speech Therapy services, click here.