The Big Picture
Aphasia affects a person’s ability to use or understand language. A person may have trouble saying what they mean, understanding words, or both.
Aphasia happens because of an injury to the brain. The amount of language loss and the chance of recovering language skills differ from person to person.
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Start Here If You’re Overwhelmed
Focus on these core ideas:
- Aphasia is a partial or complete loss of speech and language skills caused by brain injury.
- Receptive aphasia mainly affects understanding language.
- Expressive aphasia mainly affects speaking or writing.
- Expressive–receptive aphasia, also called global aphasia, affects both speaking and understanding.
- Aphasia may affect a person’s ability to send a message, understand a message, or both.
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Course Notes: Key Ideas You Need to Know
What Is Aphasia?
Aphasia is the partial or complete loss of speech and language skills. It may affect understanding words, saying words correctly, or both.
Aphasia is caused by brain injury. The most common causes described here are:
- stroke, also called a cerebral vascular accident or CVA
- head trauma
- brain tumours
Some people regain some or all of their language skills. For others, aphasia is permanent.
People with dementia who develop aphasia do not typically regain verbal communication skills.
How Aphasia Affects Communication
Communication requires a message to be sent, received, and understood.
A person with aphasia may have trouble:
- sending a message
- understanding a message they receive
- doing both
The exact communication problem depends partly on the type of aphasia.
The Three Basic Types of Aphasia
There are three basic types:
- Receptive aphasia
- Expressive aphasia
- Expressive–receptive aphasia, also called global aphasia
Receptive Aphasia
Receptive aphasia means difficulty understanding language.
The person has difficulty understanding:
- spoken words
- written words
- their own words
- other people’s words
Their speech may sound mixed up or muddled. They may also mix up sounds within words.
For example, a person trying to say “hospital” might say “posital.”
Expressive Aphasia
Expressive aphasia means difficulty speaking or writing.
A person with expressive aphasia can understand spoken and written words. The problem involves expressing what they want to say or write.
Their speech or writing may be:
- jumbled
- slurred
- difficult to understand
The person may think one thing but say or write something different. For example, the person may want food but ask for a newspaper.
They may have trouble finding the right words or putting sounds together to form words and sentences. A person trying to ask for a glass of water might repeat one word instead.
Some people leave out connecting words. Others produce only sounds or syllables that do not communicate the intended message.
People with expressive aphasia are aware of their mistakes because they understand what they are saying. This awareness may cause frustration or depression. A person may cry or swear without an obvious reason.
Expressive–Receptive Aphasia
Expressive–receptive aphasia means difficulty both speaking and understanding language. It is also called global aphasia.
The difficulty involves:
- speaking
- understanding spoken language
- understanding written language
Some people with this type of aphasia may say only words such as “yes” and “no.” They may also make simple sounds.
Other people lose all speech and language skills.
Fast Review
Aphasia affects language, but the exact problem differs by type. Focus on whether the person has difficulty understanding, expressing language, or both.
- Aphasia is partial or complete loss of speech and language skills caused by brain injury.
- Common causes include stroke or CVA, head trauma, and brain tumours.
- Some people regain some or all language skills, while aphasia is permanent for others.
- Communication problems may involve sending a message, understanding a message, or both.
- Receptive aphasia causes difficulty understanding spoken and written language.
- Expressive aphasia causes difficulty speaking or writing even though the person can understand spoken and written words.
- People with expressive aphasia may recognize their own communication mistakes and become frustrated or depressed.
- Expressive–receptive aphasia, or global aphasia, causes difficulty speaking and understanding language.
- Some people with global aphasia have extremely limited speech, while others lose all speech and language skills.
Final Pep Talk
The three types become easier to separate when you focus on one question: is the main problem understanding, expressing, or both? Review that difference a few times, especially if the names start blending together.