WHAT IS APHASIA?
Aphasia is the full or partial loss of the ability to communicate. It leads to difficulty in speaking, reading, writing, calculating, or even understanding a written or oral message.

WHAT CAUSES APHASIA?
Aphasia is a result of brain damage in the areas responsible for language. Such damage is most often caused by a cerebrovascular accident (CVA), but it may also result from a head injury (during a car accident, for example) or a tumour on the brain.

CVAs do not necessarily lead to language difficulties. Actually, between 20 and 35 percent of CVAs can cause aphasia. But they can also lead to more than one after-effect (for example, aphasia and hemiplagia).

WHO CAN BE AFFECTED?
Based on estimates by the National Aphasia Association in the United States judging that one American in 275 is aphasic, the aphasic population of Quebec can be estimated at around 20,000 individuals. The Association québécoise des personnes aphasiques suggests that every year in Quebec 4000 persons become aphasic.

As 78 percent of aphasias are due to CVAs and we know that CVAs strike the elderly most often, it is not surprising that a good number of persons with aphasia are elderly.

CONSEQUENCES OF APHASIA...
Whether the person is referred to a long-term care hospital facility or returns to the house, the problem of communication will be crucial.
• There are few kinds of technical aid (tools to help communication) helpful to persons with aphasia. This aspect has yet to be developed.
• Social isolation is significant.
• Patients may exhibit a more or less long-term depressive state and those close to them may also present symptoms of depression and exhaustion.

This is why the mission of the Dr. Paul David Foundation for Persons
with Aphasia is to support the community and public network called on to assist persons with aphasia.
“Human aid” is the chief aid to communication!