8 Types of Aphasia
Aphasia is language impairment that affects our ability to communicate in speaking, reading, writing, and understanding. The cause of aphasia is damage to the left hemisphere of the brain, in most people. Usually, the damage is caused by a stroke. However, other types of brain injuries can also lead to aphasia.
There are approximately 2,000,000 people in the United States living with aphasia. Aphasia can affect people of all ages, races, and genders. Although people with aphasia may have difficulty communicating, aphasia affects language and not intelligence. At times people feel that “they know what they want to say, but it just doesn’t come out”.
Below, we outlined the 8 different types of aphasia:
Global Aphasia: This type of aphasia severely affects communication. A person with Global Aphasia may only be able to say a few sounds or words and have significant difficulty understanding others.
Broca’s Aphasia: This type of aphasia affects speaking and writing. People with Broca’s Aphasia can understand most of what is being said but has difficulty forming sentences and are typically aware of these errors.
Wernicke’s Aphasia: This type of aphasia affects speaking, reading, writing, and understanding. People with Wernicke’s Aphasia can understand easily, but what they say doesn’t always makes sense and are unaware of mistakes.
Anomic Aphasia: This type of aphasia is a mild form of aphasia that affects speaking and writing. People with Anomic Aphasia understand most of what they hear but have difficulty finding words or naming objects/people.
Conduction Aphasia: This type of aphasia is rare and mainly affects speaking and writing. People with Conduction Aphasia are able to express themselves and understand others but have difficulty repeating phrases and sentences.
Subcortical Aphasia: This type of aphasia affects speaking, reading, writing, and understanding. People with Subcortical Aphasia present with low speaking volume, variable understanding, and difficulty finding words.
Transcortical Motor Aphasia: This type of aphasia affects speaking and writing. People with Transcortical Motor Aphasia can understand most of what they hear but struggle forming sentences and are aware of their errors.
Transcortical Sensory Aphasia: This type of aphasia mainly affects speaking and writing. People with Transcortical Motor Aphasia can understand most of what they hear but struggle forming sentences and are aware of their errors.
A Speech-Language Pathologist (SLP) is the professional that can provide proper diagnosis and treatment for aphasia. An SLP can help you find ways to communicate what you want to say or better understand others. Aphasia can continue to improve over time, particularly with the help of speech therapy.
