Follow us: hu Improving life after brain injury Need to talk? 0808 800 2244 Donate Home About brain injury Individuals Effects of brain injury Communication problems Communication problems after brain injury Communication problems after brain injury are very common. Although most of us take it for granted, the ability to communicate requires extremely complex skills and many different parts of the brain are involved. There are four main categories of the effects of brain injury. Any of these can cause communication problems: Physical - affecting how the body works Cognitive - affecting how the person thinks, learns and remembers Emotional - affecting how the person feels Behavioural - affecting how a person acts Many people will experience more than one form of communication problem after brain injury, depending on the areas of the brain affected and the severity of the injury. It is also important to recognise that such problems may occur alongside other changes in physical, cognitive, emotional and behavioural functions. The diagram below shows the cerebral cortex. The cortex is the outer part of the brain, which is responsible for our more sophisticated thinking skills. Many of the functions listed are important for communication and injury to any of these areas can impair communication skills. This section explains some of the ways brain injury can affect communication. Language impairment (aphasia) Injury to language centres of the brain leads to a condition called aphasia. Find out about receptive aphasia, reading problems, expressive aphasia and writing problems after brain injury. Find out more Speech difficulties Sometimes brain injury causes communication difficulties by impairing the physical ability to speak, rather than the ability to understand and express language. Find out more Cognitive communication difficulties Communication is a complex process, which involves many aspects of thinking and social skills. If brain injury impairs any of these skills then it can affect the ability to communicate successfully. Find out more Effects of brain injury Find out about some of the main difficulties that arise after brain injury, together with some suggestions as to how to deal with them. Find out more Our booklet Coping with communication problems after brain injury (PDF) provides more in-depth information about the issues covered here, and you can contact the Headway helpline if you have any further questions. Related resources Coping with memory problems - practical strategies Executive dysfunction after brain injury Prosopagnosia - face blindness after brain injury Brain injury and me Stories of life after brain injury Supporting you Find out how Headway can help Headway in your area Find support near you Friends of Headway Individual membership Join/Renew Contact Us t: 0115 924 0800 e: enquiries@headway.org.uk Help us improve life after brain injury. Donate Improving life after brain injury 0808 800 2244 Call our free helpline 9am - 5pm, Monday to Friday. Or email helpline@headway.org.uk Join our online Community 27k Likes 25k Followers 3k Subscribers Privacy policy Cookies Terms & Conditions Accessibility Contact Us Resource centre Find a Headway Approved care providers Charity shops Fundraising comments, feedback and complaints Vacancies Join our mailing list Headway - the brain injury association is registered with the Charity Commission for England and Wales (Charity no. 1025852) and the Office of the Scottish Regulator (Charity no. SC 039992). Headway is a company limited by guarantee, registered in England no. 2346893. © Copyright Headway 2021 - Site designed and developed by MEDIAmaker By clicking 'Accept All Cookies’ you agree to the storing of cookies on your device. This will help us to offer the best possible experience and develop more of the information you need. Accept All Cookies Cookies Settings