Specialty Service
Aphasia Treatment
Rebuilding language and communication after stroke or brain injury. We help adults regain the words, confidence, and connection that aphasia takes away.
Understanding the Condition
What is aphasia?
Aphasia is an acquired language disorder caused by damage to the parts of the brain responsible for language. It most commonly results from stroke but can also occur after traumatic brain injury, brain tumors, or neurological infections. Aphasia does not affect intelligence — it affects the ability to access and use language.
Aphasia can impact all forms of communication: speaking, understanding spoken language, reading, and writing. The severity and type vary widely from person to person. Some individuals may struggle to find a single word, while others may have difficulty understanding what is said to them. Many experience challenges across multiple language areas simultaneously.
There are several types of aphasia, including Broca's aphasia (limited, effortful speech with relatively preserved comprehension), Wernicke's aphasia (fluent but often meaningless speech with impaired comprehension), global aphasia (severe impairment across all language functions), and anomic aphasia (primarily word-finding difficulty). Your specific diagnosis guides the therapy approach we use.
Recovery from aphasia is possible. The brain has a remarkable ability to reorganize and form new connections, especially with targeted, consistent speech-language therapy. Many individuals continue to make meaningful progress months and even years after their stroke or injury.
Signs & Symptoms
What to look for
- Difficulty finding the right words during conversation
- Substituting incorrect words or made-up words for intended ones
- Speaking in short, fragmented phrases or single words
- Trouble understanding what others are saying
- Difficulty reading books, newspapers, emails, or text messages
- Struggling to write words, sentences, or even your own name
- Producing speech that sounds fluent but does not make sense
- Difficulty repeating words or phrases spoken by others
- Trouble following group conversations or keeping up with fast speech
- Frustration or withdrawal from social situations due to communication barriers
Our Approach
How we treat aphasia
Constraint-Induced Language Therapy
Intensive practice that encourages use of spoken language by limiting reliance on compensatory strategies, helping rebuild neural pathways for speech production.
Functional Communication Training
Therapy centered on the words, phrases, and communication tasks that matter most in your daily life — ordering food, talking with family, managing medical appointments.
Compensatory Strategy Development
When full language recovery is not the immediate goal, we teach effective workarounds — gestures, drawing, writing key words, and communication notebooks.
AAC Integration
For individuals with severe aphasia, we evaluate and train on augmentative and alternative communication tools — from simple picture boards to tablet-based speech apps.
We also work closely with families and caregivers, providing education about aphasia, communication partner training, and strategies for supporting conversation at home. Aphasia affects the entire family, and we believe everyone benefits when the whole communication circle is involved in therapy.
Who We Help
Adults recovering from neurological events
Our aphasia therapy services are designed primarily for adults who have experienced a stroke, traumatic brain injury, brain tumor, or other neurological event that has affected their language abilities. We work with individuals at every stage of recovery — from the early weeks after a stroke to years post-onset.
Whether you are just beginning your recovery journey, have been told you have "plateaued," or are looking for a more specialized approach, we can help. Research shows that individuals with aphasia can continue to make gains with the right therapy, regardless of how long ago the brain injury occurred.
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Schedule a consultation
If you or a loved one is living with aphasia, we are here to help. Call us to discuss your situation and learn how speech therapy can support your recovery.