Communicating With a Parent Doesn’t Have to Be Impossible After Aphasia Hits

Aphasia is a common health condition that follows some type of brain injury. It impacts the ability to speak and/or comprehend written or verbal information. You’ll find aphasia appearing in the latter stages of Alzheimer’s, after a stroke, or as a brain tumor grows. It can be mild or severe. When it’s severe, it can seem impossible to communicate.

Up to 4 out of 10 cases of aphasia are caused by brain damage following a stroke. Almost 2 million men and women in the U.S. have aphasia. If your parent does, it can make it hard to have a conversation, but it doesn’t have to be impossible.

The Main Types of Aphasia

These are the main types of aphasia you may come across with your aging parent:

• Anomic – It’s hard for people with anomic aphasia to come up with words for things they want to talk or write about. Reading and comprehension are fine.
• Broca’s – Speech is very limited and often kept to no more than four-word phrases. Reading isn’t typically a problem.
• Global – A severe form where the patient is rarely able to speak and understands very little verbal or written communication. It’s common following a severe stroke.
• Mixed – Speech is limited. Plus, writing and reading skills are there but on a child’s level.
• Primary Progressive – This is a typical form seen in Alzheimer’s. Brain tissue degrades to the point speech, writing, and reading skills slowly disappear.
• Wernicke’s – Speech may seem fluent, but the comprehension of what the words mean is lost, so sentences and phrases seem jumbled.

How Do You Communicate?

Patience is key to communicating with a parent who has aphasia. Keep your sentences short. Speak slowly and try to avoid higher levels of vocabulary.

Let your parent answer you. Don’t rush to fill in gaps. If your parent asks you to help find the right word, that’s fine. Never jump in and try to finish your parent’s sentences because it’s taking too long. Impatience only adds to the frustration.

If communication is getting difficult due to frustration, which can happen, step away and do something else for a bit. Go out for a walk, bake bread, or paint pictures together. You can have an enjoyable afternoon without having to speak to each other.

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