Stroke survivors, their family members, friends and caregivers learned what happens to the brain during a stroke and how it affects communication from Mary Day, clinical professor of communicative disorders at UW-Stevens Point, at the “Surviving Stroke Together” Portage County Area Stroke Support Group on Monday, Sept. 30 at the Lincoln Center.
Over one million Americans struggle with aphasia (1 in every 250 people). Aphasia is a disorder that results from damage to the parts of the brain that contain language that is usually caused by stroke, head injury, brain tumor or neurological conditions. Aphasia causes problems with any or all of the following: speaking, listening, reading and writing.
Some people with aphasia have trouble using words and sentences (expressive aphasia), while others have problems understanding others (receptive aphasia). Aphasia can cause problems with spoken language (talking and understanding) and written language (reading and writing). Typically, reading and writing are more impaired than talking or understanding.
For more information about aphasia, visit www.aphasia.org or contact the UWSP Center for Communicative Disorders.