<Tr> <Th> ICD - 9 - CM </Th> <Td> 438.12, 784.5 </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Td_colspan="2"> (edit on Wikidata) </Td> </Tr> <P> Aphasia is an inability to comprehend and formulate language because of damage to specific brain regions . This damage is typically caused by a cerebral vascular accident (stroke), or head trauma; however, these are not the only possible causes . To be diagnosed with aphasia, a person's speech or language must be significantly impaired in one (or several) of the four communication modalities following acquired brain injury or have significant decline over a short time period (progressive aphasia). The four communication modalities are auditory comprehension, verbal expression, reading and writing, and functional communication . </P> <P> The difficulties of people with aphasia can range from occasional trouble finding words to losing the ability to speak, read, or write; intelligence, however, is unaffected . Expressive language and receptive language can both be affected as well . Aphasia also affects visual language such as sign language . In contrast, the use of formulaic expressions in everyday communication is often preserved . One prevalent deficit in the aphasias is anomia, which is a deficit in word finding ability . </P>

A deficit in the ability to speak or comprehend language is called