Many individuals with dysarthria are over 65. Their communication skills often may be improved by appropriate treatment. Some individuals with this disorder may have no speech, while others may have only mild difficulties recalling names or words. Others may have problems putting words in their proper order in a sentence. The ability to understand oral directions, to read, to write, and to deal with numbers may also be disturbed.
Strokes are the major cause of aphasia in the older population.
It has been estimated that there are over one million adults with aphasia in the United States today. Many can be helped to communicate more effectively. They can usually learn to speak again by learning esophageal speech, by using an electronic device, or by surgical implant of a voice prosthesis. Other forms of disease may result in complete or partial loss of the voice. Most of these problems can be treated.