Understanding Aphasia: Types, Symptoms, and How It Affects Communication

Imagine knowing exactly what you want to say but not being able to find the words. Or speaking clearly, but not understanding what others are saying to you. This is the reality for many people living with aphasia, a language disorder that often occurs after a stroke or brain injury.

Aphasia can be confusing and frustrating not just for those who have it, but for their families and caregivers as well. In this blog post, we’ll break down what aphasia is, explore the different types of aphasia, and explain how each type impacts communication.

What Is Aphasia?

Aphasia is a communication disorder caused by damage to the language centers of the brain, most commonly due to a stroke. It affects a person’s ability to speak, understand speech, read, or write. 

The severity and type of aphasia depend on the location and extent of the brain damage.

Aphasia is generally categorized into fluent and non-fluent types, based on speech patterns and comprehension. The types of Aphasia include:

1. Broca’s Aphasia (Non-Fluent Aphasia)

Main features:

• Short, broken speech (e.g., “Walk… dog” instead of “I’m walking the dog.”)

• Difficulty forming full sentences

• Good understanding of spoken language

• Aware of speech difficulties, often leading to frustration

  • Cause: Damage to the frontal lobe (specifically Broca’s area)

  • Example: A person may struggle to say “I want coffee,” and instead say “Want… coffee.”

2. Wernicke’s Aphasia (Fluent Aphasia)

Main features:

• Speech flows easily but may not make sense (nonsense words, irrelevant words)

• Difficulty understanding spoken language

• Often unaware of their communication issues

• Reading and writing may also be impaired

  • Cause: Damage to the temporal lobe (Wernicke’s area)

  • Example: A person might say, “The frogleaf light jumped over the bottle,” believing it makes sense.

3. Global Aphasia

Main features:

• Severe impairment in both speech and comprehension

• Little to no ability to speak, understand, read, or write

• Often occurs immediately after a large stroke

  • Cause: Widespread damage to the brain’s language centers

  • Example: The person may only be able to say a few words or sounds and have great difficulty understanding others.

4. Anomic Aphasia

Main features:

• Difficulty finding the right words, especially nouns and verbs

• Speech is grammatically correct but vague

• Good comprehension and reading ability

  • Cause: Can result from damage to various parts of the brain

  • Example: A person might say, “I need to go to the… um… place where you buy food,” instead of “grocery store.”

5. Primary Progressive Aphasia (PPA)

Main features:

• Gradual loss of language ability over time

• Caused by neurodegenerative disease, not stroke

• Different subtypes affect speech production, grammar, or word comprehension

  • Example: A person may slowly start having trouble forming sentences or understanding common words, which worsens over time.

In conclusion, aphasia can be one of the most challenging consequences of a stroke or brain injury. But with understanding, patience, and the right therapy, people with aphasia can make significant progress.

Author: Nayeli Dominguez M.S., CF-SLP