Current:Home > MyMore than 2 million Americans have aphasia, including Bruce Willis and Wendy Williams -RiskRadar
More than 2 million Americans have aphasia, including Bruce Willis and Wendy Williams
View
Date:2025-04-17 15:19:48
Wendy William's care team announced Thursday that the talk show host was diagnosed with aphasia and frontotemporal dementia, adding to the list of celebrities who suffer from the aphasia.
The announcement drew comparisons to Bruce Willis who also suffers from both aphasia and frontotemporal dementia.
Other celebrities have announced their diagnoses including actresses Emilia Clarke and Sharon Stone. About 2 million people in the United States suffer from aphasia, according to the National Aphasia Association.
"My full name is Emilia Isobel Euphemia Rose Clarke. But now I couldn’t remember it," Clarke told the New Yorker about the process of her diagnosis. "Instead, nonsense words tumbled out of my mouth and I went into a blind panic. I’d never experienced fear like that—a sense of doom closing in. I could see my life ahead, and it wasn’t worth living. I am an actor; I need to remember my lines. Now I couldn’t recall my name."
The disease affects a person's ability to speak and understand speech, according to the Mayo Clinic.
Here are some of the celebrities who have been diagnosed with aphasia.
Celebrities diagnosed with aphasia
- Wendy Williams
- Bruce Willis
- Sharon Stone
- Emilia Clarke
- Patricia Neal
- Kirk Douglas
- Dick Clark
- Randy Travis
- Ellen Corby
- Terry Jones
What is Aphasia?
Aphasia is a disease that effects speech and language comprehension caused by head trauma or a brain tumor, according to the Mayo Clinic.
According to the Clinic, symptoms of the disease can include:
- Speaking in short or incomplete sentences
- Speaing in sentences that don't make sense
- Substituting one word for another or one sound for another
- Speaking in unrecognizable words
- Having difficulty finding words
- Not understanding other people's conversation
- Not understanding what they read
- Writing sentences that don't make sense
Ability to understand different parts of language affected in different ways for people with the disease.
The Mayo Clinic recommends seeking immediate medical attention if a person shows signs of the disease.
veryGood! (9464)
Related
- Why members of two of EPA's influential science advisory committees were let go
- Today’s Climate: July 24-25, 2010
- Flash Deal: Get 2 It Cosmetics Mascaras for Less Than the Price of 1
- Today’s Climate: July 30, 2010
- DoorDash steps up driver ID checks after traffic safety complaints
- Former Trump attorney Timothy Parlatore thinks Trump could be indicted in Florida
- Trump ally Steve Bannon subpoenaed by grand jury in special counsel's Jan. 6 investigation
- Expanding Medicaid is popular. That's why it's a key issue in some statewide midterms
- Most popular books of the week: See what topped USA TODAY's bestselling books list
- Supreme Court sides with Jack Daniels in trademark fight over poop-themed dog toy
Ranking
- As Trump Enters Office, a Ripe Oil and Gas Target Appears: An Alabama National Forest
- Today’s Climate: July 26, 2010
- What causes Alzheimer's? Study puts leading theory to 'ultimate test'
- Children's hospitals grapple with a nationwide surge in RSV infections
- How to watch the 'Blue Bloods' Season 14 finale: Final episode premiere date, cast
- Environmental Groups Sue to Block Trump’s Endangered Species Act Rule Changes
- Pigeon Power: The Future of Air Pollution Monitoring in a Tiny Backpack?
- Wildfire smoke impacts more than our health — it also costs workers over $100B a year. Here's why.
Recommendation
IRS recovers $4.7 billion in back taxes and braces for cuts with Trump and GOP in power
Today’s Climate: July 26, 2010
You're 50, And Your Body Is Changing: Time For The Talk
Today’s Climate: July 22, 2010
'Most Whopper
A town employee who quietly lowered the fluoride in water has resigned
Abortion is on the ballot in Montana. Voters will decide fate of the 'Born Alive' law
How Ben Affleck Always Plays a Part In Jennifer Lopez's Work