Common changes after a brain injury
Many people notice one or more of these:
- Trouble focusing, or switching between tasks
- Forgetting new information, appointments or medications
- Difficulty planning, organizing or solving problems
- Losing the thread of a conversation, or missing tone of voice and facial expressions
- Searching for the right word
- Reading takes longer, and complex text is harder to follow
Some people are not fully aware of these changes. Others seem fine in a short conversation but struggle in daily life, so we look at how these changes affect communication in real-world tasks.
When concussion symptoms last
Most people recover from a concussion within weeks to months. For some, symptoms linger: headaches, fatigue, poor sleep, trouble concentrating, memory slips and mental fog. When symptoms persist, it is a good idea to seek further evaluation.
More serious and repeated injuries
Moderate and severe brain injuries often mean a longer recovery, and support changes as you move from hospital to rehab to home, work and community. Thinking and communication changes can also follow repeated head injuries, including those linked to chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE). Whatever the cause, we help with the cognitive-communication changes that follow. Diagnosis comes from your doctor.
Other causes of brain injury
The same kinds of changes can follow other events and illnesses:
- Loss of oxygen
- Anoxic or hypoxic injury, for example after cardiac arrest, can affect memory, attention and planning.
- Toxic encephalopathy
- Thinking and communication changes after exposure to toxic substances.
- Encephalitis and meningitis
- Inflammation or infection of the brain can leave lasting memory, thinking, speech and language changes, and rehabilitation can include cognitive-communication and speech therapy.
- Delirium and serious illness
- Confusion during a hospital stay or critical illness can leave attention and memory changes that take time to clear.
How therapy helps
Every plan starts from your goals. Depending on what you need, we work on:
- Attention
- Practice that builds focus and the ability to handle two things at once.
- Strategies that stick
- Setting goals, checking progress and adjusting, so strategies carry over into everyday tasks.
- Memory supports
- Calendars, checklists, timers and phone apps, set up and practiced until they become habit.
- Conversation
- Staying on topic, taking turns and reading social cues, practiced with the people you talk to most.
- Family
- Showing the people closest to you how to help, because they are part of recovery. Learn more about our caregiver education.