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Getting Back To Your Life
Brain injuries affect people in so many ways, but universally, it challenges entire families. We know you want to get back to your life again. Your language is how you express love for your family, how you exchange jokes, how to learn, and how you communicate your needs. When you can't communicate how you used to, learning new ways to speak and interact is an important step to getting back to the life you love.
Did you know that falls are the most common cause of traumatic brain injury (TBI) in the United States? The most common populations affected are children 0-4, military members, and adults 75+. Other causes include: Car crashes, sports accidents, stroke, exposure of the brain to toxic chemicals, and even shockwaves from military devices.
Depending on how severe the brain injury is, a person may have to re-learn how to do basic things, but having an experienced speech therapist by your side can make a huge difference!
Our Speech Pathologists are specially trained in all areas of the brain and cranial nerves related to language and motor planning and are well equipped to help an individual with a brain injury. Therapy goals are always functional and meant to help the patient maximize their communication and improve their quality of life.
Depending on how severe the brain injury is, a person may have to re-learn how to do basic things, but having an experienced speech therapist by your side can make a huge difference!
Our Speech Pathologists are specially trained in all areas of the brain and cranial nerves related to language and motor planning and are well equipped to help an individual with a brain injury. Therapy goals are always functional and meant to help the patient maximize their communication and improve their quality of life.
What Are the Benefits of Speech Therapy In Brain Injury Recovery?
Speaking:
Speech can become effortful, distorted, and slurred after a brain injury. This is caused by a condition called Dysarthria. This is due to damage in a specific areas of the brain that help to control a lot of the language and motor planning we do to speak. There are different types of Dysarthria (i.e. Flaccid, Spastic, Ataxic, Hypokinetic, Hyperkinetic). After an evaluation, the Speech Pathologist can diagnose which type a person has and determine the best course of treatment.
Apraxia is another condition that can be created by a traumatic brain injury. Apraxia is characterized by inconsistent errors in producing sounds and words, groping for sounds, making errors in tone, stress, or rhythm when speaking.
Language:
Aphasia is a condition that arises from stroke or brain injury that results in loss of language. There are different type of Aphasia that result in different physical presentations. For example, one might have difficulty with word finding if they have Broca's Aphasia, and difficulty speaking coherently with Wernicke's Aphasia. Global Aphasia affects multiple areas and is more severe. The Speech Pathologist is trained to identify and diagnose the type of Aphasia and determine the best course of treatment.
Social:
Frontal Lobe damage can result in social language difficulties. Patient's with a brain injury may suddenly lose their 'filter' and say inappropriate things. Socially, things change because the person cannot connect and keep up in conversations they way they used to, so there is an element of counseling that accompanies this diagnoses and many patients also benefit from seeing a psychologist and participating in brain injury support groups.
Swallowing:
When swallowing is impaired, the person is diagnosed with Dysphagia. This may be affected at the oral level, pharyngeal level, or esophageal level, depending upon the areas of the brain that are injured and which cranial nerves are affected. Therapy may require first a swallow study to determine where the swallowing difficulty is located to then best determine the appropriate course of treatment.
Problem Solving/Organization:
In almost all brain injury cases, there is a higher cognitive level affecting a person's executive functioning ability, which encompasses a person's ability to problem solve, recall information, manage their time, regulate emotions, organize information, and plan.
Speech can become effortful, distorted, and slurred after a brain injury. This is caused by a condition called Dysarthria. This is due to damage in a specific areas of the brain that help to control a lot of the language and motor planning we do to speak. There are different types of Dysarthria (i.e. Flaccid, Spastic, Ataxic, Hypokinetic, Hyperkinetic). After an evaluation, the Speech Pathologist can diagnose which type a person has and determine the best course of treatment.
Apraxia is another condition that can be created by a traumatic brain injury. Apraxia is characterized by inconsistent errors in producing sounds and words, groping for sounds, making errors in tone, stress, or rhythm when speaking.
Language:
Aphasia is a condition that arises from stroke or brain injury that results in loss of language. There are different type of Aphasia that result in different physical presentations. For example, one might have difficulty with word finding if they have Broca's Aphasia, and difficulty speaking coherently with Wernicke's Aphasia. Global Aphasia affects multiple areas and is more severe. The Speech Pathologist is trained to identify and diagnose the type of Aphasia and determine the best course of treatment.
Social:
Frontal Lobe damage can result in social language difficulties. Patient's with a brain injury may suddenly lose their 'filter' and say inappropriate things. Socially, things change because the person cannot connect and keep up in conversations they way they used to, so there is an element of counseling that accompanies this diagnoses and many patients also benefit from seeing a psychologist and participating in brain injury support groups.
Swallowing:
When swallowing is impaired, the person is diagnosed with Dysphagia. This may be affected at the oral level, pharyngeal level, or esophageal level, depending upon the areas of the brain that are injured and which cranial nerves are affected. Therapy may require first a swallow study to determine where the swallowing difficulty is located to then best determine the appropriate course of treatment.
Problem Solving/Organization:
In almost all brain injury cases, there is a higher cognitive level affecting a person's executive functioning ability, which encompasses a person's ability to problem solve, recall information, manage their time, regulate emotions, organize information, and plan.