Speech Therapy for Traumatic Brain Injury

Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) can cause about astages of a traumatic brain injury. There are also
lot of speech and language disorders that wouldcompensatory strategies taught for a TBI patient.
entail the need of speech therapy. That's why theEarly Stage Treatment
role of speech therapy in the rehabilitation processTreatment during the early stage of a traumatic
of a traumatic brain injury patient is very vital.brain injury would focus more on medical
TBI Speech And Language Problemsstabilization. A speech therapist would also deal
A person may have loss of consciousness after amore on establishing a reliable means of
traumatic brain injury. This loss of consciousnesscommunication between the patient and the
can vary from seconds, minutes, hours, days,therapist. The patient is also taught how to
months or even years. The longer you are out ofindicate yes or no, when asked.
consciousness, the more severe your injury is.Another goal is for the patient to be able to
After a traumatic brain injury, you may suffermake simple requests through gestures, nods, and
secondary consequences, which are considered toeye blinks. The behavioral and mental condition of
be more lethal and dangerous than the primarythe patient is also treated. During the early stage,
injury.sensorimotor stimulation is also done. Where in the
Some of these secondary consequences includetherapist would heighten and stimulate the
damage to your brain's meninges, traumaticpatient's sense of sight, smell, hearing and touch.
hematoma, increased intracranial pressure,Middle Stage Treatment
herniation, hyperventilation, ischemic brain damage,The main goal during the middle stage treatment
and cerebral vasospasm. When these brainis for the patient to develop an increased control
damages occur, they tend to affect parts ofof the environment and independence. The
your brain that are responsible for speech andadequacy of patient's interaction to the
language processing and production, thus you getenvironment is also increased. The therapist should
speech and language problems.also stimulate the patient to have organized and
Traumatic brain injuries can cause you permanentpurposeful thinking. The uses of environmental
or temporary memory loss, orientation problems,prompts are to be diminished during this phase.
lesser cognitive performance or slower processingA lot of activities focusing on cognitive skills like
of thought, attention problems, deterioration ofperception, attention, memory, abstract thinking,
skills in basic counting, spelling and writing. You canorganization and planning, and judgment, are also
also have Aphasia, where you have a loss ofgiven.
words.Late Stage Treatment
Traumatic brain injury can also cause you difficultyDuring the late stage of treatment, the speech
in reading simple and complex information. Yourtherapists goal is for the patient to be able to
naming skills, of everyday seen objects, familiardevelop complete independence and functionality.
others can also be affected. It can also bringEnvironment control is eliminated and the patient is
about dysarthria, or problems with movement,taught compensatory strategies to cope with
that can cause you to have shaky movementsproblems that have become permanent.
leading to difficulty speaking and writing.Some of these compensatory strategies are the
Speech Therapy For Traumatic Brain Injuryuse of visual imagery, writing down main ideas,
Patientsrehearsal of spoken/written material, and asking
Treatment for traumatic brain injury patients canfor clarifications or repetitions when in the state
be classified into three categories. There areof confusion.
different treatments for early, middle and late