American actor Bruce Willis (67) recently stepped away from his acting career after receiving a diagnosis of aphasia. Willis is well known for his work in action roles in movies such as the Die Hard series and many other acclaimed roles. Willis landed his first major role in 1985 in the TV series Moonlighting, making him a prominent figure in Hollywood for almost 40 years.
According to an Instagram post that was created by his daughter, Scout Willis, Bruce Willis was recently diagnosed with a communication disorder called aphasia. It was reported that his cognitive abilities were impacted by his aphasia. The recent diagnosis of such a noted actor has driven the word “aphasia” into the spotlight, thus bringing about a great opportunity to discuss what aphasia truly is and what it is not. The following paragraphs are intended to shed some light on what exactly this disorder is, what can be done about it and explore some of the things that the disorder is not.
What is Aphasia?
According to the American Speech Language and Hearing Associations (2022), Aphasia is a communication disorder that impacts the ability to understand language, use language to express wants and needs and to use language to read and write. How a person is impacted by the disorder is dependent on the location of the injury or disease in the brain. Aphasia can occur after any change to the brain from injury or disease. The most well known cause of Aphasia is a stroke, but it can and does appear in some people after changes in the brain.
What is NOT Aphasia?
Aphasia is not a disease that impacts cognition primarily. Cognition is “all forms of knowing and awareness, such as perceiving, conceiving, remembering, reasoning, judging, imagining, and problem solving”, according to the American Psychological Association (2022). Difficulties with cognition can occur with Aphasia, but not all those impacted by Aphasia will have cognitive difficulties and not all those affected by cognitive difficulties with have Aphasia.
Now what? Can you do anything about Aphasia?
Yes! FYZICAL's Speech and Language Pathologists can provide a dynamic assessment that includes standardized testing assessments as well as informal evaluation measures that will give the clinician the best picture of what a client’s strengths and weaknesses may be. Following that evaluation there will be treatment sessions that will look different for each person depending on what the client’s goals are, what may make someone the most functional and what appears to be the great difficulty for the client. Those treatments may include activities designed to improve understanding of messages spoken to the client, improving forms of expressive communication to ensure the client can express their wants and needs adequately or to help find an alternative communication method such as a speech generating device, writing or other forms of picture communication systems. The most important part of any treatment plan will be the home program and support from family and friends, which is why treatment will also include education for the family and support system.
If you or someone you know has been diagnosed with Aphasia and appears to need help with their communication skills, call our office today or talk to your primary care provider about obtaining a referral to our office for an evaluation. You can also visit https://www.asha.org/findpro/ and search for a certified SLP in your area.
References
“Understanding Aphasia: Bruce Willis Diagnosis Puts Language Disorder in the Spotlight” ASHA.org. 31 March 2022, https://www.asha.org/news/2022/understanding-aphasia-bruce-willis-diagnosis-puts-language-disorder-in-the-spotlight/ American Psychological Association (2022). Cognition. In APA Dictionary of Psychology.https://dictionary.apa.org/cognition
Photo credit the New York Times https://www.nytimes.com/2022/03/30/well/mind/aphasia-symptoms-treatment.html