Bruce Willis Disease: Aphasia affects about 180,000 Americans annually, yet it took a famous person to make the disorder well-known. The family of Bruce Willis announced last week that he had a language problem, which can impair one’s capacity for speaking, listening, reading, and writing.
According to Manaswita Dutta, Ph.D., CCC-SLP, a speech-language pathologist and assistant professor in the Department of Communication Disorders and Sciences at RUSH University Medical Center, aphasia does not impair a person’s intelligence despite these significant effects.
What Is Aphasia, And Why Does It Happen?
According to Dutta, aphasia is not a cognitive disorder but rather an acquired language impairment brought on by damage to the brain’s areas involved in language processing. Likewise, now we can see people searching for Bruce Willis Disease. Typically, this refers to the left side of the brain, which controls our capacity for language.
The most typical cause of aphasia is a stroke, which can also result from head trauma or a brain tumor. Likewise, now we can see people searching for Bruce Willis Disease. When the brain’s tissue deteriorates with age, an additional type of aphasia might happen.
What Varieties Of Aphasia Are There?
Receptive aphasia is a kind of aphasia—people with a brain injury to their temporal lobe experience it. Receptive aphasics can communicate, but their words could be illogical. They could also struggle to comprehend short phrases and words.
Expressive aphasia is a different type resulting from frontal lobe brain injury. People with expressive aphasia frequently have significantly limited speech but can understand language.
“They could communicate with gestures or with a few words. Likewise, now we can see people searching for Bruce Willis Disease. They often overlook a lot of verbs and use a lot of nouns, which negatively impacts their grammar, she claims.
These aphasias are distinct from primary progressive aphasia (PPA), which develops progressively due to brain deterioration. PPA, though, is not dementia.
She notes that memory is usually impacted by dementia before it affects communication and language. “However, linguistic problems, such as difficulty finding words during a conversation, are the first signs of PPA.
Then, as PPA worsens, people struggle with their memory, concentration, and other cognitive abilities.
What Does Aphasia Feel Like?
According to Dutta, the inability to speak successfully can make many aphasia sufferers feel dissatisfied, alone, and unhappy.
Although aphasia is not a mental condition, some aphasics may experience non-linguistic cognitive issues. Dutta’s research focuses on aphasia patients who struggle with executive functioning abilities like working memory, planning, judgment, and critical thinking, which we rely on daily.
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That doesn’t imply that executive dysfunction issues or other cognitive impairments are brought on by aphasia. Likewise, now we can see people searching for Bruce Willis Disease. These problems accompany aphasia, she claims.
Does Aphasia Always Deteriorate?
No. Not every aphasic will witness a deterioration in language, according to Dutta.
Depending on the kind of aphasia, the condition could get worse. People who have aphasia as a result of a stroke or other disability do not have a progressive decline in their language skills over time, she adds, unlike those who have PPA.
How Is Aphasia Detected And Handled Medically?
An imaging test of the brain, such as functional magnetic resonance imaging, is typically used to determine the cause of aphasia. The patient will then be referred to Dutta, a speech-language pathologist known as a speech therapist, by their primary care physician or neurologist.
Speech therapists thoroughly evaluate patients with aphasia to determine whether language skills are impacted at all three RUSH hospitals. Then, based on the kind and degree of aphasia and their objectives, they collaborate with each patient to establish a customized treatment strategy.
This can entail providing a presentation in a lecture hall for one patient. It can include texting their daughter for another person,” adds Dutta. “The goal is to enhance the psychological burden of living with aphasia and language outcomes.”
Speech therapists work with aphasia patients for several weeks or months to help them better communicate and understand the language. “Our first goal is to restore language functions, but depending on the severity of the aphasia, sometimes that may not be achievable,” she explains.
“In that situation, we can teach patients to express themselves in various ways, like gesturing, painting, or using assistive text-to-speech technology. This may improve the quality of life for those who have aphasia.
“Die Hard is NOT a CHRISTMAS MOVIE” – Bruce Willis
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How Can Aphasia Affect A Person’s Family?
Aphasia is frequently referred to as a family disease because it is a severe diagnosis that affects not just the person who has it but also their loved ones and carers, according to Dutta.
The patient assessment and treatment planning processes at RUSH involve family members. She says we want to see how the family adjusts to the change. “We include them in the goal-setting process because of this.
They might desire their aphasic loved one to become a little more independent so that they can relieve some of the burdens. Likewise, now we can see people searching for Bruce Willis Disease. Additionally, speech therapists offer communication partner training so that family members can help their loved ones express themselves and have better conversations with them.
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Do Those Who Have Aphasia Have To Give Up Their Jobs?
Like Bruce Willis, many aphasics find working to be challenging. However, many others can regain employment by receiving speech treatment and improving their language skills. Likewise, now we can see people searching for Bruce Willis Disease. Or they might decide to work part-time or in a line of job that doesn’t involve as much communication.
Speech therapists at RUSH are dedicated to assisting aphasia sufferers in returning to the workforce if that is their aim.
According to Dutta, there is “absolutely no reason” to believe someone with aphasia has lost all hope. Likewise, now we can see people searching for Bruce Willis Disease. There is hope, and we can make getting back to work a top priority in our rehabilitation.
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