title: Let's call it "aphasia": Rationales for eliminating the term "dysphasia".
abstract: Health professionals, researchers, and policy makers often consider the two terms aphasia and dysphasia to be synonymous. The aim of this article is to argue the merits of the exclusive use of the term aphasia and present a strategy for creating change through institutions such as the WHO-ICD. Our contention is that one term avoids confusion, speech-language pathologists prefer aphasia, scholarly publications indicate a preference for the term aphasia, stroke clinical guidelines indicate a preference for the term aphasia, consumer organizations use the title aphasia in their name and on their websites, and languages other than English use a term similar to aphasia. The use of the term dysphasia in the broader medical community may stem from the two terms being used interchangeably in the ICD10. Aphasia United http://www.shrs.uq.edu.au/aphasiaunited , an international movement for uniting the voice of all stakeholders in aphasia within an international context, will seek to eliminate the use of the term dysphasia.
authors.affiliation: 1 School of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences, The University of Queensland, St Lucia, Australia.
authors.forename: Linda
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Worrall
authors.affiliation: 2 Department of Health and Human Sciences, Southeastern Louisiana University, Hammond, USA.
authors.forename: Nina
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Simmons-Mackie
authors.affiliation: 1 School of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences, The University of Queensland, St Lucia, Australia.
authors.forename: Sarah J
authors.initials: SJ
authors.lastname: Wallace
authors.affiliation: 1 School of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences, The University of Queensland, St Lucia, Australia.
authors.forename: Tanya
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Rose
authors.affiliation: 3 Nursing, Midwifery and Allied Health Professionals Research Unit, Glasgow Caledonian University, Glasgow, UK.
authors.forename: Marian C
authors.initials: MC
authors.lastname: Brady
authors.affiliation: 4 Communication Sciences and Disorders, University of Central Florida, Orlando, USA.
authors.forename: Anthony Pak Hin
authors.initials: AP
authors.lastname: Kong
authors.affiliation: 5 Department of Speech and Hearing Science, Indiana University, Bloomington, USA.
authors.forename: Laura
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Murray
authors.affiliation: 6 Communication Sciences and Disorders, Ohio University, Athens, USA.
authors.forename: Brooke
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Hallowell
mesh_terms: D001037:Aphasia / Q000145:classification*; D006801:Humans; D009626:Terminology as Topic
keywords: Terminology; aphasia; dysphasia; stroke