University project by Kariane Alepins, speech-language pathology student at Université de Montréal.
Imagine living in a country where you neither speak nor understand the language: you know exactly what you want to say, but a barrier keeps you from getting it across. That is the image Kariane Alepins uses to convey the daily reality of people living with aphasia. Aphasia is an acquired language disorder caused by a brain injury — a stroke, a traumatic brain injury, a tumour or a neurocognitive disorder — that can affect speaking, understanding, reading and writing. More than 100,000 Canadians live with it.
The video also debunks common myths: aphasia does not affect intelligence, and it can affect men and women of any age. It shows up very differently from one person to the next — some can no longer speak at all, while others struggle to find their words or build sentences. Two signs often help recognize it: word-finding difficulties, which lead to vague terms instead of precise names, and automatic language — deeply ingrained words (counting, singing, swearing, days of the week) that come out involuntarily.
Most importantly, the video offers concrete ways to communicate better: get the person’s attention before speaking, slow down while keeping an adult tone, stick to one idea at a time, ask yes/no questions or offer answer choices, support your words with gestures and allow time to respond. A communication booklet, visual aids or simply paper and pencil complete the toolkit — the goal being to support the exchange, never to infantilize.
Transcript
Translated from the original French video.
Aphasia. Imagine living in a foreign country. You neither speak nor understand the language. You know what you want to say and what you need, but a language barrier stands in your way. You try your best to make yourself understood. Yet people lose patience, misread your intentions, and misunderstandings follow. You no longer know how to get your message across. You feel frustrated, discouraged, and you lose the desire to communicate with others. These are the challenges a person living with aphasia may face every day.
Aphasia is an acquired language disorder that affects the way a person communicates. Before it, the person had normal language. It is caused by a brain injury, such as a stroke, a traumatic brain injury or a tumour, or it can appear with neurocognitive disorders. It can affect the ability to say words, to understand words, but also to read or write. More than 100,000 Canadians live with aphasia.
Many myths surround aphasia. It is important to stress that aphasia does not affect a person’s intelligence. It makes communication harder, but does not prevent it entirely. It can affect men and women of all ages.
Aphasia can take many forms. Some people cannot speak at all, or very little. Some have trouble building sentences, cannot find the right words or pronounce words properly. They may also have difficulty understanding the words they hear. Some can read and write, while others cannot.
Certain signs help recognize aphasia. The first is word-finding difficulty — struggling to retrieve one’s words. People will then use vague terms instead of naming objects or people precisely. They may also use what is called automatic language: language learned early in life or deeply ingrained. The person may count, sing, swear, recite the days of the week or say common expressions without being able to control it.
When you meet a person with aphasia, avoid infantilizing them, speaking quickly or jumping between topics, asking overly broad questions, pretending you understood them, or correcting their words and sentences. This is crucial to a better exchange: they will be better able to communicate their needs, and you to understand them.
Instead, remove distractions. Make sure you are facing the person and have their attention before starting the conversation. Adapt your language: speak more slowly while keeping an adult tone. Address one idea at a time. Use short, simple, direct sentences. Ask questions that can be answered yes or no, or offer answer choices. Support what you say with gestures. Repeat or rephrase as needed, and give the person time to answer.
People living with aphasia sometimes have a communication booklet containing basic information about them and personalized pictograms to help them communicate. You can ask them whether that is the case. You can also use a visual aid offering yes, no or I don’t know as answer choices, so the person can respond. Don’t hesitate to use paper and pencil to write key words or draw to make yourself understood. The goal is to make interactions work better and reduce communication breakdowns between you and the person living with aphasia.