Aphasia Sorter¶
Run the Aphasia Sorter MicroSim Fullscreen
About This MicroSim¶
Aphasia is a language disorder caused by damage to the brain's language network, most often from a stroke. Doctors and speech-language pathologists tell the main types apart by listening for three things: whether speech is fluent, whether the person understands what is said to them, and whether they can repeat a sentence.
This MicroSim turns that bedside skill into a sorting game. Each round shows one short speech sample and a one-line clue about comprehension or repetition. You decide whether it is Broca's aphasia, Wernicke's aphasia, conduction aphasia, or normal speech. There are 10 items (3 Broca's, 3 Wernicke's, 2 conduction, 2 normal), shown in a new random order each round.
All speech samples were written for this book. They are simplified teaching examples, not recordings of real patients, and real people with aphasia vary a lot. The game uses only three aphasia types plus normal speech. Real clinics also see other types, such as global, anomic, and transcortical aphasia, and many patients have mixed patterns that don't fit one box.
How to Use¶
- Read the speech sample in the white box. Ask: is it fluent, or slow and broken? Does it make sense?
- Read the clue in the yellow box. It tells you about comprehension or repetition.
- Click one category button: Broca's, Wernicke's, Conduction, or Normal. You get one answer per item.
- Read the feedback. It tells you whether you were right, names the correct category, and explains which clue decides it.
- Click Next for the next item. After item 10 you'll see your final score.
- Click Restart at any time to reshuffle and start a new round.
Learning Objective¶
Bloom's level: Analyze (classify). The learner will classify short speech samples as Broca's aphasia, Wernicke's aphasia, conduction aphasia, or normal speech by analyzing fluency, comprehension, and repetition, scoring at least 8 of 10 correct.
Iframe Embed Code¶
<iframe src="https://aaryavvatts-lab.github.io/neuroscience-textbook/sims/ch12-aphasia-sorter/main.html" height="647px" width="100%" scrolling="no"></iframe>
Lesson Plan¶
Grade level: 9 to 12 (also suitable for Brain Bee preparation and introductory pre-med courses)
Duration: 20 to 25 minutes
Prerequisites: Students should know the four lobes of the brain, that each hemisphere controls the opposite side of the body, and the terms fluency, telegraphic speech, paraphasia, neologism, comprehension, and repetition (Section 12.4 of Chapter 12).
Activity:
- Warm-up (5 min): Ask students to describe a time they couldn't find a word ("tip of the tongue"). Explain that aphasia is a much more severe and lasting language problem after brain injury, and that it does not affect intelligence.
- Play (10 min): Students play one full round alone, then a second round with a partner. Partners must say out loud which clue (fluency, comprehension, or repetition) decided each answer before clicking.
- Discuss (5 to 10 min): Which items were hardest? Why are the "normal" samples tricky? Why can a fluent speaker still have a serious language disorder?
Assessment questions:
- A patient speaks in long, smooth sentences full of made-up words and cannot follow "Close your eyes." Which type of aphasia is this, and which lobe is most likely damaged?
- Two patients both have poor repetition. One is nonfluent, the other fluent with good comprehension. Name each type of aphasia.
- Why does Broca's aphasia often come with weakness of the right arm, while Wernicke's aphasia usually does not?
- Write one original speech sample for each of the four categories, with a clue, that a classmate could sort correctly.