Burke Offers Hope to People with Aphasia
While the month of June is most often associated with the start of summer, it is also National Aphasia Awareness Month. Aphasia Awareness Month began as a national campaign to increase public awareness about what aphasia is and to assist in recognizing the numerous people who are living with and/or caring for someone with the disorder.
What is aphasia?
Aphasia (Uh-Fay-Zhuh) is one of the most significant and common conditions caused by stroke or brain injury. Aphasia is an acquired communication disorder that impairs a person’s ability to process language but does not affect intelligence. Aphasia impairs the ability to speak and understand others, and most people with aphasia experience difficulty reading and writing.
Who is impacted by aphasia?
- Over 2 million people in the United States are currently affected by aphasia according to the National Aphasia Association and it is more common than Parkinson’s Disease, cerebral palsy or muscular dystrophy.
- Nearly 180,000 Americans acquire the disorder each year.
- Aphasia affects people of any age, race, nationality, and gender.
- Stroke is the most common cause of aphasia (about 25-40% of stroke survivors acquire aphasia) but it can also be caused by traumatic brain injury, brain tumors, degenerative disease, and metabolic changes.
How does aphasia impact a person’s daily living?
Being diagnosed with aphasia can impact an individual’s day-to-day life in many ways. The little things that we do each day without thinking about can be extremely difficult and overwhelming for someone living with aphasia. Imagine being unable to order your favorite drink at Starbucks, read the morning paper, or even sign your name. Aphasia affects every person differently depending on the severity of their injury and what part of the brain was affected. While someone may have mild difficulties “thinking of the right word,” another person may have severe difficulties, feeling like they are in a foreign country and unable to speak the language.
What Burke is doing to help patients with aphasia?
- Speech therapy improves outcomes in people with aphasia.
- Burke has the only Intensive Comprehensive Aphasia Program (ICAP) in Westchester County with four hours per day of daily intensive aphasia therapy in a group of 4-6 participants over a 4-week period.
- All participants in 2023 made clinical language improvements, with many achieving a statistically significant improvement or beyond
- The Healthcare Association of New York State (HANYS) featured Burke's ICAP Program in a video.
-Naomi Favreau, MS, CCC-SLP, CBIS
ICAP Highlights
(Averages are derived from raw data)
