Music is easier to remember than plain words.  Music also brings back other memories.  

I've started to forget the words to songs I've listened to my entire life.  I hope it is simply because I don't spend as much time listening to music.  


Doing this quiz I was a bit embarrassed by how many hours I have spent watching TV.

Aphasia - perfect name for a Disney Princess

I thoroughly enjoy the game Words With Friends.  I am also good at it, usually.  This morning I played three turns in a row where the best word I could came up with had single digit points.  When a game is coming to a close, and a player only has a few tiles, and the board is crowded - it is normal to have several words in a row worth three or four points.  But never in the middle of the game.  

So naturally my first thought was Alzheimer's.  One of the symptoms of Alzheimer's is aphasia.  Which is the inability to come up with the correct word.  Or any word.  

Actually there are several related conditions and the one I am talking about is really Dysphasia.  The difference being that Dysphasia is difficulty and Aphasia is complete inability.  

The similar word Dysarthria is a physical rather than cognitive difficulty.  With  Anarthria being complete inability. 

Apraxia is the loss of ability to plan and execute the oral motor tasks needed in order to speak - which seems only slightly different than Dysarthia - but if I understand correctly it is caused by damage in an entirely different part of the brain.  

Inability or difficulty to write is agraphia, or dysgraphia. 

 Inability or difficulty to manipulate numbers is acalculia or dyscalculia.

Toward the end of Grandma's life she suffered from Dysphasia.  She hadn't read a book in years by that time, so she may have lost her ability to comprehend written words prior to losing her ability to understand spoken language.  

Sometimes she knew the word wasn't there and would become frustrated with herself.  Other times she just used words that had no meaning in the context of what she was saying and seemed unaware.  I have no idea how often she nodded and agreed with something I said but had no idea what I was saying.  

The reason I am sharing this is that when I have any difficulty with language in any form, I immediately have scary Alzheimer's thoughts.  But then I ponder on it a moment and when I am able to retrieve the word "Aphasia" it reassures me that I am okay.  

I suspect that if I ever do develop Alzheimer's that "Aphasia" will be the last word I remember before I lose all language ability.

It's as if the word itself is a magic charm.  I wonder what other things we hang onto as proof that we are okay.