UQ’s Queensland Aphasia Research Centre Director Professor David Copland spoke with the ABC about aphasia and how the centre is a game changer for people with the condition.
QARC Director Professor David Copland said the scientific and medical communities were now learning a lot about aphasia, but there was still a long way to go into understanding what treatment an individual needed to make a "really good recovery".
"This includes understanding how the stroke has affected their language networks, and how the brain recovers, and whether we can predict based on how the brain is working what type of treatment someone needs, or how much they need," Professor Copland said.
He said many people who have the condition found themselves socially isolated and facing hurdles to adjust their family lives and professional lives.
"People with aphasia are four times more likely to have depression than the general population, and so it can be quite an adjustment, because if you think of how we communicate, that's often our identity," Professor Copland said
