Aphasia history and symptoms

Editor-In-Chief: C. Michael Gibson, M.S., M.D. [1]

Aphasia can be assessed in a variety of ways, from quick clinical screening at the bedside to several-hour-long batteries of tasks that examine the key components of language and communication.

Any of the following can be considered symptoms of aphasia:

• Inability to comprehend language
• Inability to pronounce, not due to muscle paralysis or weakness
• Inability to speak spontaneously
• Inability to form words
• Inability to name objects
• Poor enunciation
• Excessive creation and use of personal neologisms
• Inability to repeat a phrase
• Persistent repetition of phrases
• Paraphasia (substituting letters, syllables or words)
• Agrammatism (inability to speak in a grammatically correct fashion)
• Dysprosody (alterations in inflexion, stress, and rhythm)
• Uncompleted sentences
• Inability to read
• Inability to write