3 Things To Know About Cognitive Impairment From A Brain Injury

If your spouse was involved in a major car accident that left him or her with a traumatic brain injury (TBI), he or she may never quite be the same. Major brain injuries often leave people with long-term cognitive impairment. While there are ways to treat this problem, there is most likely no guaranteed method of treatment that will fully restore your spouse's cognitive skills. Here are a few things you should understand about cognitive brain injuries.

What Are Cognitive Brain Injuries?

Cognitive skills are one of several important types of brain functions, and these skills are used for attention, memory, and flexibility. They are used to perceive things, make decisions, and solve problems. Unfortunately, major trauma to the brain can cause impairment to a person's cognitive skills. After that, the person may end up having a lot of problems with the skills mentioned here.

What Are The Main Problems You May See In Your Spouse?

If your spouse has cognitive impairment, you may notice some or all of the following issues:

• Forgetting things – This can include a loss of memory from the past, but it is more likely to involve forgetting normal things each day. He or she may also forget words and names, and you may see that it takes him or her a long time to express a feeling, concern, or statement.
• Confusion – Your spouse may also appear confused a lot. This is because he or she may not remember normal things, or it might be because your spouse really does not understand what is currently happening.
• Attention problems – It may be hard for your spouse to hold a conversation and stick with the subject matter. He or she may also spend way too much time doing one simple task, and he or she may never even be able to finish the task. You may also notice him or her daydreaming often.
• Aggression – It can also be common for a person with cognitive skills to become upset quickly about the smallest things. Any little thing can trigger aggression in a person like this, and it is often because they are confused or unsure of things.

Your spouse may be a completely different person after experiencing injuries like this; however, it is important for your spouse to seek help for these issues.

How Is This Treated?

Treatment for cognitive impairment is determined on an individual basis for each person that needs it, and this is primarily because there really isn't a perfect way to fix these issues. There are options, though, that may help your spouse improve at least a little, and taking medication is one of these things. There are many types of medications that are used to treat brain injuries, and many of them are designed to boost the functions of the brain and to control the chemicals the brain releases.

Occupational therapy is another form of treatment that can be helpful, and this type of treatment can also be helpful for you. Through occupational therapy, you might be able to learn things you can do to help your spouse's brain function the best it can. Here are some of the things you might want to do to help with this:

• Learn to speak slowly to your spouse and repeat yourself if necessary.
• Develop a daily routine for your spouse to follow.
• Make lists of important details for your spouse to read if he or she needs to.

Cognitive impairment is something that is very common with brain injuries, but your spouse's doctor might be able to help. To learn more, visit a doctor that specializes in brain treatment, such as one at a clinic like Allegheny Brain And Spine Surgeons.