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Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI)

What is Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI)?

Traumatic brain injury (TBI) results from a sudden trauma to the head (a bump, blow, jolt or sharp object) that causes damage to the brain. TBI can be a result of falls, motor vehicle accidents, violence, or sports injuries. Sudden trauma can cause extensive brain damage due to a ricochet effect. The initial damage to the brain occurs at the site of the injury, but the force then propels the brain in the opposite direction to the wound, causing injury to other parts of the brain not directly impacted by the trauma.

Brain injuries can be open or closed. Trauma piercing the skull will cause an open head injury, but closed head injuries also damage brain tissue. Both kinds of injuries can be mild, moderate or severe, depending on the severity of the brain injury. Symptoms will depend on the extent of the brain injury and the areas of the brain damaged.

Mild traumatic brain injury may cause temporary dysfunction of brain cells, but more serious TBI can result in long-term deficits including hearing loss, tinnitus (ringing or buzzing in the ears), headaches, seizures, cognitive (memory or thinking) problems, auditory processing difficulties, language problems or slurred speech. Social and communication skills are basic requirements for daily life, so brain injury can have a significant effect on social relationships with family and friends. Changes to behaviour, personality or interpersonal skills can also impair the ability to live independently.

What can professionals do to help?

Children or adults who have had a significant brain injury will require rehabilitation to relearn basic skills, such as walking or talking and to help them perform daily activities. The speech-language pathologist (SLP) is the member of the rehabilitation team who assesses speech, language, and communication skills. The SLP also has expertise in addressing problems in executive functioning, such as planning, organizing, strategizing, and remembering details.

Speech-language therapy will help a child or adult to understand and produce spoken language (listening and talking), written language (reading and writing), and social communication. The SLP will work with the patient and their family to improve these skills or find other ways of communicating (see AAC). The SLP can provide strategies and suggest ways to modify the environment to support the person during daily living activities.

Speech-language therapy usually begins in the hospital and continues through inpatient or outpatient services.The type and duration of rehabilitation varies by individual, depending on the severity and extent of the brain injury.