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Broca's aphasia (non-fluent aphasia)
Wernicke's aphasia (fluent aphasia)
Anomic aphasia
Primary progressive aphasia (PPA)
There are several different types of aphasia, which affect people in different ways.
The most common types of aphasia are:
- Broca's aphasia
- Wernicke's aphasia
- Anomic aphasia
Another type of aphasia is primary progressive aphasia (PPA), which unlike the other types of aphasia is degenerative, meaning it gets worse over time.
Broca's aphasia (non-fluent aphasia)
Broca’s aphasia or expressive aphasia is when people find it very difficult to find and say the right words, although they probably know exactly what they want to say.
People with Broca's aphasia may only be able to say single words or very short sentences, although it’s usually possible for other people to understand what they mean. This can be very frustrating.
The features of Broca's aphasia are:
Wernicke's aphasia (fluent aphasia)
Wernicke’s aphasia or receptive aphasia is when someone is able to speak well and use long sentences, but what they say may not make sense. They may not know that what they're saying is wrong, so may get frustrated when people don’t understand them.
The features of Wernicke's aphasia are:
Primary progressive aphasia (PPA)
Primary progressive aphasia (PPA) is a condition where language capabilities become slowly and progressively worse, leading to a gradual loss of the ability to:
- Read.
- Write.
- Speak.
- Understand what other people are saying.
Deterioration can happen slowly, over a period of years. Other mental functions such as memory, reasoning, insight and judgement are not usually affected.
It's important to get an accurate diagnosis for PPA. This is to rule out other degenerative brain disorders like Alzheimer's disease where language and memory and reason are affected.
There is no cure for PPA. However, a person can still communicate effectively with the right tools, support and PPA support group.