Season 1, Episode 10: Aphasia – When Words Fade but Understanding Remains

Host: Lisa Skinner
Series: Truth, Lies & Alzheimer’s: The Memory Care Chronicles

In this enlightening episode, host and behavioral expert Lisa Skinner dives into one of the most heartbreaking and misunderstood symptoms of Alzheimer’s and dementia — aphasia, the loss of language and communication skills.

Lisa explains how, as the disease progresses, many people lose the ability to find the right words, express their thoughts, or understand what’s being said — yet they still feel deeply and retain understanding far longer than we realize.

To bring this to life, Lisa shares a true story from her book Truth, Lies & Alzheimer’s – Its Secret Faces called “The Pill Box Story.”
Viewers meet Harvey, a man living with Alzheimer’s whose daughter believes he can no longer communicate or care for himself. But when Lisa visits, she quickly discovers something remarkable — Harvey understands far more than his family gives him credit for. Although he can’t recall words like “pill box” or “medication,” he knows exactly how to organize and take his daily pills, demonstrating that comprehension and reasoning still exist beneath the communication challenges.

Through Harvey’s story, Lisa reveals the crucial difference between losing language and losing understanding, offering caregivers and families a new perspective on how to interpret their loved one’s behaviors and abilities.

💬 Key Insights:

• Aphasia is a symptom of brain damage caused by Alzheimer’s and other dementias.
  
   
• Loss of speech does not always equal loss of understanding.
  
   
• Families often misread language struggles as total decline.
  
   
• Compassion, patience, and observation can reveal how much the person still knows and feels.
  
   

Lisa also shares practical strategies for improving communication — using gestures, touch, tone, and visual cues to maintain connection when words fail.

✨ Takeaway Message:
Even when words are gone, connection is not. Love, awareness, and empathy bridge the silence that aphasia creates.

Resources Mentioned:
📗 Truth, Lies & Alzheimer’s – Its Secret Faces by Lisa Skinner
🌐 Visit www.TruthLiesAlzheimers.com to explore more stories, podcast episodes, and helpful caregiver tools.