Abnormal speech pattern Aphasia Aphasia is caused by brain injury. The most common cause is stroke, but aphasia can also be caused by other factors such as head trauma, brain tumors, or infections. The terms aphasia and dysphasia are usually considered to be synonymous, but the word dysphasia has been used inconsistently and it is recommended to no longer use the term dysphasia. HP:0002381 Loss of words SNOMEDCT_US:87486003 HP:0002357 UMLS:C0003537 Losing words Difficulty finding words An acquired language impairment of some or all of the abilities to produce or comprehend speech and to read or write.