The world learned on Wednesday that Hollywood legend Bruce Willis, 67, is retiring from his diagnosis of aphasia, a potentially devastating condition that causes a person to lose their communication skills.
Willis’s family announced that the condition would cause the Die Hard star to relinquish “the career that has meant so much to him.”
About one million Americans suffer from the condition, reports the National Institutes of Health, and about 180,000 people are diagnosed each year.
It can manifest itself in multiple ways and is often the result of a head injury, stroke, tumor, or other brain damage.
Aphasia can also be devastating. Experts say it causes depression in more than a third of cases, can lead to personality changes and even alienate friends and family from the affected person.
Other well-known examples of aphasia include former Arizona congressman Gabby Giffords and Game of Thrones star Emilia Clarke.
“Imagine being dropped in a country where you don’t speak, understand, read, write or speak the language. It would affect all of your interactions — that’s what it’s like to have aphasia,” Darlene Williamson, president of the aphasia society, told DailyMail.com.
While it’s impossible for Willis in particular to say how drastically the condition has affected him and his behavior, Williamson reports that it can often be devastating for patients.
“The consequences of living with a language disorder can change a person’s behavior and outlook on life,” Williamson said.
“About 35 percent of people with aphasia experience some form of depression.”
The cause of the condition, which is often some sort of traumatic brain injury or stroke, can lead to massive personality changes.
“(Aphasia is) language problems resulting from some kind of brain damage. The most common cause is stroke, but it can also result from any other type of damage,” Dr. Brenda Rapp, cognitive scientist at Johns Hopkins University, told DailyMail.com.
Certain infections that affect the brain’s language centers can also cause aphasia, along with the cognitive decline and decline associated with dementia.
This condition can make it very difficult for an actor like Willis to continue his career as the mere process of enunciating lines can become challenging.
“It would certainly be difficult,” Williamson said of trying to keep acting while suffering from the condition.
‘Aphasia affects language comprehension, speaking, but also reading and writing. There are different levels of severity, which would be another determining factor. It may not be impossible, but acting requires extra accommodation.’
Dr. Rapp said that despite communication breakdowns caused by the condition, people who suffer from the condition still have the same thoughts and are the same person internally. While the experience can be alienating, loved ones should remember that the person hasn’t changed. Pictured: Willis with family and friends after a roast event in 2018
There are four common forms of aphasia that make up the vast majority of cases: fluent – often called Wernicke’s; non-fluent – known as Broca’s; anomic; and primary progressive aphasia.
Rapp explained that there are different forms of the condition, as each form represents a different kind of breakdown in the communication process.
Whether it’s the ability to translate thoughts into the right words, the ability to physically say words, or the ability to interpret and understand the speech of others, every part of communication is a complex process and even mild brain damage can cause trouble.
Although the condition causes communication breakdowns, Rapp notes that the person herself is still the same.
Their thoughts, beliefs, and feelings toward their loved ones persist, even though it can be frustrating and alienating for both the aphasia patient and those around them to deal with this condition.
Willis’s family did not reveal what type he was dealing with, or how severe the disease was, or what caused the condition.
According to the Stroke Association, In a British group, those suffering from Wernicke’s aphasia have the ability to string together long sentences of words, but will often say things in an inappropriate way, or even use made-up words.
They will also suffer from reduced reading and writing ability and may have difficulty understanding clear verbal communication to them.
An example Rapp uses is that someone may misunderstand the sentence ‘John kicked the dog’.
Dr. Brenda Rapp, a cognitive scientist at Johns Hopkins University, explains that aphasia is often caused by stroke and can manifest itself in many different ways.
While the average person would clearly understand who kicked whom in that scenario, a person dealing with this type of condition may have a hard time figuring out whether John or the dog was the person who kicked.
Broca’s aphasia often causes a person to forget words or put together a good sequence of words, even if his brain can fully understand what he wants to say.
A person who suffers from this type of disorder will often use simple, short sentences to convey speech because sometimes he cannot say what he wants very well.
The Stroke Association says these sentences will often be about four words or less.
A person suffering from Broca’s aphasia will also have difficulty writing, but their ability to read remains unaffected.
A person suffering from anomic aphasia may have difficulty finding specific verbs and nouns they need to get their point across, and will speak very vaguely.
This can also translate into their writing where they will simply not be able to generate the right words needed to say what they would like to say.
Primary progressive aphasia aphasia damages a person’s ability to communicate in almost every way.
A person suffering from this version of the condition will have difficulty speaking, reading and writing.
Their ability to process and understand someone speaking to them is also damaged.
Doctors can often detect aphasia through an MRI or CT scan and pinpoint exactly which part of the brain is causing the problem.
There is no way to completely recover or cure the condition, but patients will often undergo speech therapy to rebuild their language skills.
“There’s not much progress (with drugs for the condition)… the treatment for aphasia is speech therapy,” Rapp said.
She noted that in some cases, someone may undergo electrical stimulation therapy in addition to speech therapy to “get the most out of the experience.”
Williamson said that “strong family support is a critical part of living a successful life with aphasia.”
However, it’s not always permanent, and how long it lasts and how severe it is often depends on how bad the brain damage is.
Stroke victims who suffer from aphasia in particular can regain their speech, often within weeks.