What is Traumatic Brain Injury?
Traumatic brain injury (TBI) occurs when areas of the brain are damaged due to trauma. Trauma can be the result of a direct hit to the head, a sudden stop or deceleration or a rapid, spinning motion. Causes may include car accidents, sports-related collisions or an accidental fall.
What are the effects?
Since your brain controls everything you say, think and do, a brain injury can have many different effects. Because every brain is slightly different, the effects of brain injury are different for each person.
You may have cognitive-communication symptoms such as challenges with attention and concentration, understanding and remembering instructions or following a conversation. You may also have difficulty explaining your thoughts and ideas, reading or writing and organizing, problem-solving and making decisions. Physical symptoms such as fatigue and headaches can intensify these difficulties. A traumatic brain injury can also result in emotional changes such as difficulty controlling anger.
Did you know that the majority of individuals with brain injury have cognitive-communication difficulties? These challenges may be hard to notice at first and may only become apparent over time, particularly for children as a brain injury affects their ability to learn.
How we can help
Speech-language pathologists are trained with a strong knowledge of how cognitive (thinking) and language skills work together.
At Beyond Words Speech-Language Pathology, we believe that effective cognitive-communication therapy must have two broad aims: to support your current abilities in everyday activities and to improve those abilities wherever possible. Our therapy plan will promote your areas of strength while supporting your areas of need. Educating and training your family to support your communication is key, as communication is a shared activity. We can examine where assistive technology can support and improve your cognitive-communication.
Our speech-language pathologists have years of experience in the medical-legal aspects of traumatic brain injury. We understand the stress that arises when attempting to navigate this complex system and will support you in accessing the cognitive-communication services you need.
To discuss your specific needs: 905-723-3061 speech@beyondslp.ca