Traumatic Brain Injury and Speech Disorders
Why suffering a TBI can make communicating difficult–and how speech therapy can help.
If you or a loved one has recently suffered a traumatic brain injury (TBI), you know that the effects can be wide-ranging, with physical, cognitive, and sensory symptoms. One of the most impactful aftereffects of a TBI is cognitive change, which can affect your communication ability. Dedicated speech therapy with Integrity Rehab & Home Health in Temple can help restore or maintain cognitive function related to language, speech, and thinking skills.
The phrase “traumatic brain injury” refers to any injury caused by either a jolt or blow to the head or by an object piercing the skull and entering the brain. They vary wildly in severity: concussions, for example, are mild TBIs that only cause temporary damage to the brain cells. On the other hand, the most serious TBIs can lead to permanent disability or death.
Traumatic brain injuries are surprisingly common, with the CDC reporting 223,000 TBI-related hospitalizations in 2019 alone. Because trauma causes TBIs, not illnesses, anyone is at risk of experiencing one.
When someone suffers a more severe TBI that leads to long-term cognitive impairment, they’re often affected by speech and language disorders. The speech therapists at Integrity Rehab & Home Health are experts in navigating these disorders and can help you achieve as much independence as possible.
To learn more about the treatment options available for TBI-related speech and language disorders, request an appointment at our Temple speech therapy clinic today.
Which speech and language disorders are caused by TBIs?
Traumatic brain injuries can cause any number of different symptoms based on the severity of the injury and its location. Because the brain controls everything our body does, damage to the brain can have dramatic effects.
There are several ways that a TBI can affect someone’s ability to think, speak, and communicate. Here are some of the disorders our speech therapists can treat:
Aphasia: Aphasia impairs your ability to process language, affecting one or more of the four main ways people communicate (speaking, listening, reading, and writing). There are different types of aphasia based on the specific language centers affected.
Apraxia: Apraxia makes it difficult to correctly say what you want to say. With apraxia, your brain knows what it wants to communicate, but due to damage in the brain pathways, it can’t signal to the muscles of your mouth to make the necessary sounds.
Dysarthria: Like apraxia, dysarthria makes it hard to say what you’re thinking. However, dysarthria is a motor speech disorder, meaning that the issue is caused by muscular weakness rather than by impairment in the brain. It often occurs alongside apraxia.
Cognitive-communication disorders: These disorders can affect several areas of your cognitive ability based on the location of your TBI. You might struggle to process or learn new information, find your attention and focus have diminished, or experience difficulties with short-term memory or problem-solving.
Social communication impairment: You may struggle with social communication, such as taking turns during conversations or correctly interpreting nonverbal cues.
Difficulty swallowing: This last one isn’t a speech or language impairment, but it is a side effect of TBIs that our speech therapists can treat! TBIs can often lead to challenges with eating and drinking, either because of cognitive impairment or physical damage to the mouth, jaw, or throat.
How speech therapy can help after a TBI
Everyone’s experience of a traumatic brain injury is different. You may struggle with aphasia but not dysarthria, for example, or you may find that you can speak as you did before the injury but struggle to think clearly and follow long conversations. Our speech therapists will work with you to develop a treatment plan based on your needs and goals.
The sooner you can begin therapy after a TBI, the better. If your injury was severe enough, an expert likely evaluated you for potential speech and language impairments at the hospital. Our team of experts can use that information and information from our own in-depth cognitive assessment to help us fully understand your particular impairments and symptoms. From there, we’ll be able to develop a customized treatment plan just for you.
Because TBIs can cause so many different symptoms, impairments, and disorders, treatment approaches will vary. In most cases, we’ll work to help you maximize your strengths while working to restore, maintain, or compensate for any weaknesses. Here are some other approaches we might take:
- Involving your family or other loved ones in your treatment so they can better support you
- Finding new ways to communicate, such as using images
- Providing activities or exercises to improve memory, problem-solving, and day-to-day cognitive tasks
- Working with you on improving speaking, reading, listening, or writing skills
- Helping you find ways to safely eat and drink
Request an appointment with Integrity Rehab & Home Health today
No matter how your traumatic brain injury has affected you, our speech therapists are here to help you improve or maintain your speech, language, and cognitive skills. We’ll develop a detailed treatment plan to help you maintain independence and improve your overall quality of life.
The sooner you start treatment, the more effective it will be. Request an appointment with our Temple speech therapists today!