What term describes an impaired ability to communicate?

Aphasia is the term that describes an impaired ability to communicate. It is a condition that affects a person's ability to process and express language. Individuals with aphasia may experience difficulties in speaking, understanding, reading, or writing. This impairment can result from brain injury, stroke, or other neurological conditions that affect the areas of the brain responsible for language.

Dyslexia refers specifically to a reading disorder characterized by difficulty in recognizing and processing written language, which does not encompass the broader spectrum of communication impairment. Anomia describes a specific type of aphasia where individuals struggle to find the right words, particularly when trying to name objects. Apraxia, on the other hand, involves difficulty with motor planning required for speech and can affect the ability to coordinate the movements necessary to produce speech sounds. While all these terms relate to communication in different ways, aphasia is the comprehensive term for a general communication impairment.