ALEXIA – A COMMUNICATION DISORDER

Conditions like Aphasia, agraphia, or alexia; are diseases related to brain and belongs to category in which the person is faced with difficulty with written or oral communication. Alexia specifically refers to situation in which a patient gets difficulty with reading ability i.e. patient is not able to understand the written world.

Normally the conditions of Aphasia, agraphia, or alexia occur in Alzheimer's disease or after strokes. But it may also occur associated with other forms of dementia. For the right handed people this normally occurs when the left hemisphere of the brain is damaged.

Some of the communication problems that are faced with patients suffering from Aphasia, agraphia, or alexia are:-

•      Difficulty in expressing ideas, like not able to explain what happened in a movie.
•     The person finds it difficult to be a part of conversation.
•      Difficulty in finding suitable words quickly to keep up with the discussion.
•     Using the incorrect words or pronouncing them wrongly.
•     Difficulty in understanding the subtle meanings. Not being able to understand the jokes of indirect references.
•    The affected person finds it difficult to comprehend what is spoken, especially the long sentences with many pieces of information.
•   Difficulty understanding difficult and complicated issue, such as not being able to follow a news report or a long story.

Aphasia, agraphia, or alexia can occur for various reasons. This may be after a stroke in which some parts of brain are damaged. This may also result organic damage to the brain cells effecting one or more functions. This situation normally arises in the Alzheimer's disease. For example, initially alexia may affect only ability to understand the written word, but after several years, alexia may affect overall understanding of things even when the memory remains intact.

ALZHEIMER’S DISEASE AND ALEXIA

Alzheimer results due to the organic damage to brain in old age. As the disease gets worse people make even more mistakes in all modes of normal communication.

Due to Alzheimer's common communication related complications arise with the patient are:

Ø  The patient find it difficult to name objects. He may remember what he is doing or talking about but will not be able to find the correct word for the same.

Ø  The patient will resort o circumlocution meaning that patient will use words that the commonly used one to describe an object or situation.

Ø  The patient may use the completely wrong words or devise a totally no-meaning words.

Ø   As the disease gets worse, people make more mistakes when they speak. They may speak broken words or sentences or make little or no sense when they talk. As situation gets worse a time comes when patient totally stops the verbal communication.

Ø  The patient will not be able to understand the spoken word. They may not get the subtle meaning of spoken word. Will not be able to understand long sentences or jokes. As the condition gets worse patient may understand completely different meaning.

Ø  The patient may show signs of alexia. Slowly as the disease gets worse there is poorer comprehension of the written words. Even if the patient is able to read the words but they will not be able to understand the meaning of those words. Simple text may be understood but finds it very difficult to understand very long texts.

Ø  The patient in Alzheimer may show symptoms to find it difficult to write. Initially the patient may be able to write few words but as condition deteriorates the capacity keeps on falling drastically.