Aphasia is a serious social disability but, even today, it is an almost unknown problem for the community.

It is a neurological disorder that affects a persons ability to communicate. It most often occurs following a stroke or head injury. The severity of the communication disorder varies from person to person dependent on the degree of damage to the brain. Usually understanding, speech, reading and writing can be affected to some degree.

People with aphasia communicate in different ways. Some people with aphasia can communicate successfully using few words, gestures, fragments of phrases, facial expressions, intonation, writing and/or drawing.

It must be remembered that aphasia does not affect intelligence. However, affecting the world of symbols which is necessary for interaction with others, aphasia can impact hugely on a person's ability to participate independently in everyday social activities, source information, partake in conversations and share opinions and ideas. It is connected, therefore, with feelings of alienation, inferiority and shame in social settings.

To find out more about aphasia go to the website of the Partners:

www.afasia.it   (Italian and English)
www.afaasia.ee (Estonian)
www.afasie.nl and www.afasiecentrum.nl (Dutch)
www.kristianstad.se/kommunen/omsorg/afasifyren (Swedish)
www.stjames.ie (Irish)
www.stroke.fi (Finnish)