Bruce Willis to step away from acting after being diagnosed with aphasia: Know all about the language disorder

American actor Bruce Willis will be quitting films following aphasia diagnosis, which is a language disorder. His daughter, Rumer Willis, took to Instagram to announce that the Die Hard actor “is stepping away from the career that has meant so much to him”.

“To Bruce’s amazing supporters, as a family we wanted to share that our beloved Bruce has been experiencing some health issues and has recently been diagnosed with aphasia, which is impacting his cognitive abilities. As a result of this and with much consideration Bruce is stepping away from the career that has meant so much to him. This is a really challenging time for our family and we are so appreciative of your continued love, compassion and support. We are moving through this as a strong family unit, and wanted to bring his fans in because we know how much he means to you, as you do to him. As Bruce always says, “Live it up” and together we plan to do just that,” the note read.

Here’s what the medical condition is all about.
A language disorder, aphasia is caused due to damage in a specific area of the brain that controls language expression and comprehension. In most people, it is on the left-hand side that controls language capabilities. The medical condition leaves a person unable to communicate effectively with others — ability to speak, read, write and len. Experts say that aphasia can happen as a result of stroke.
According to HopkinsMedicine.org, aphasia is caused damage to the language-dominant side of the brain, usually the left side, and may be brought on :
StrokeHead injuryBrain tumorInfectionDementia
“It is currently unknown if aphasia causes the complete loss of language structure, or if it causes difficulties in how language is accessed and used,” it stated.
Types of aphasia
According to American Stroke Association,
Wernicke’s Aphasia (receptive)
*Say many words that don’t make sense.*Use the wrong words; for instance, you might call a fork a “gleeble.”*String together a series of meaningless words that sound like a sentence but don’t make sense.

Broca’s Aphasia (expressive)
*Injury to the frontal regions of the left hemisphere impacts how words are strung together to form complete sentences. This can lead to Broca’s Aphasia, which is characterised :
*Difficulty forming complete sentences.*Leaving out words like “is” or “the.”*Saying something that doesn’t resemble a sentence.*Trouble understanding sentences.*Making makes in following directions like “left, right, under and after.”
Global Aphasia
*A stroke that affects an extensive portion of your front and back regions of the left hemisphere may result in Global Aphasia.
*One may have difficulty understanding words and sentences.*Forming words and sentences.
Stroke can cause aphasia (Photo: Getty/Thinkstock)
Diagnosis
According to Mayo Clinic, the treating doctor will give a physical and a neurological exam, test the patient’s strength, feeling and reflexes. Imaging test, usually an MRI is prescribed to quickly identify what’s causing the aphasia.
Treatment
The recommended treatment for aphasia is usually speech and language therapy. Sometimes aphasia improves on its own without treatment. This treatment is carried out a speech and language therap (SLT) .
American Stroke Association states that it is important for family and well-wishers to help.
“Some people makenly think those with aphasia aren’t as smart as they used to be. But they can think; they just can’t say what they think,” it reads.
You can help people with aphasia express themselves :
Asking yes/no questions.Paraphrasing periodically during conversation.Modifying the length and complexity of conversations.Using gestures to emphasise important points.Establishing a topic before beginning a conversation.
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