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Aphasia from traumatic brain injury
What is traumatic brain injury?
Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is damage to the brain from:
- a hard bump, blow or jolt to the head, or
- a sharp object piercing the skull.
Common causes of traumatic brain injury include:
- Car accidents
- Falls
- Sporting accidents
- Assaults
A traumatic brain injury can damage different parts of the brain.
TBI usually causes damage to the frontal lobes (the front area) of the brain. Damage to the frontal lobes can cause difficulty thinking, called cognitive difficulties.
Common thinking difficulties after TBI include problems with attention, memory or planning. These difficulties can also affect communication – this is called a cognitive communication disorder.
TBI can also damage the language areas of the brain, causing aphasia. People with aphasia from TBI may have trouble:
- Understanding what other people are saying
- Thinking of the word they want to say
- Putting sentences together
- Reading and writing
People with aphasia and cognitive communication disorders from TBI may also have difficulty:
- Organising what they want to say,
- Telling a story in a concise way,
- Staying focused on a topic,
- Remembering ideas and conversations,
- Using or understanding jokes and sarcasm.
- Using appropriate social behaviour. Examples include:
- laughing at the wrong time
- not letting someone else have a turn in a conversation
Does aphasia from TBI improve?
Aphasia from TBI does improve over time. Recovery can be slow, and your communication may not get back to how it was before your injury.
A speech pathologist can give you strategies to help with your communication. They can also give your loved ones and others communication training. This training gives them skills to communicate well with you.
Things that might help:
- Support network of family and friends
- Personalised communication therapy with a speech pathologist
- Following the advice of your doctor or other health professionals
- Practice using helpful communication strategies. For example, asking people to:
- give you time to respond to them,
- slow down,
- give you one idea at a time.
- Taking control of your recovery. For example, deciding on what goals are important to you.
- Keeping a positive attitude
Other problems after brain injury
Other problems after brain injury can include:
- feeling very tired or fatigued.
- You might have trouble managing your behaviour and emotions.
- You might find it hard to speak clearly. This difficulty is called dysarthria.
- You might have difficulty with your swallowing. This difficulty is called dysphagia.
To learn more about TBI, please visit the Brain Injury Australia website.
Content contributed by: Dr. Elise Elbourn and Associate Professor Emma Power
Feature image from vecteezy.com