What is a cognitive communication disorder?
What is a cognitive communication disorder?
A cognitive communication disorder is a difficulty with communication caused by cognition rather than language or speech difficulties.
What causes a cognitive communication disorder?
Cognitive communication disorders occur due to damage to the brain as a result of a stroke, brain injury or any neurological disorder. It can affect someone’s cognitive processes including attention, memory and reasoning.
How do cognitive difficulties affect communication?
Cognitive difficulties are reflected in a person's communication. They may not be affected by all of the items below but you may recognise elements that you might be able to support with the guidance given.
Attention: A person’s ability to concentrate may be affected by difficulties maintaining attention. This may cause them to miss important information in a conversation.
What can you do to help someone with attention difficulties?
• Reduce distractions such as turning off the radio or television to talk in a quiet environment so they can concentrate.
• One task at a time
• Gain the persons attention before beginning an important conversation
• Give information in shorter chunks .
• Take frequent breaks when tired.
Memory: A person’s ability to remember things that have happened recently (short-term memory) and sometimes longer term. They may repeat information or be unable to recall things that have happened to them earlier in the day.
What can you do to help someone with memory problems?
• It doesn't always help to ask them questions about things that have happened recently – most people find this distressing and it will not help their memory. Give them the information and comfort them.
• Use familiar objects such as photos on your phone or a newspaper to share information together
• Talk about the past if they are able to remember as this is not reliant on short-term memory.
• Ask family and friends to write in a book and this can be used as a conversation starter of who has visited and what you may have talked about together.
• Use memory aids such as a diary and apps on phones for reminders
Reasoning/problem solving skills: A person’s ability to think through and solve a problem may be affected leading them to make poor decisions.
How to help with poor reasoning:
• break down the problem
• brainstorm solutions together
• talk about the positives or negatives of each solution
• pick a solution
• talk about what happened.
It might be that someone is unable to discuss their decisions – and they may be reliant on others to support them in making decisions in their best interest. This often involves an assessment of capacity if it is a big decision about their life. A team of professionals is normally involved in these decisions, with the patient and family.
Other aspects of cognition that are affected:
Insight: A person’s ability to understand their limitations. An example of poor insight might be a person that has a left sided weakness and are at risk of falling but they still think that they can walk by themselves.
Slowed information processing: People might find it difficult to keep up with a conversation and feel overloaded with information.
Impaired social communication skills:
When a person may not recognise ‘normal’ or ‘natural’ ways of communicating with others. This means that they sometimes are seen as rude or passive.
• Turn taking skills: talking over someone, interrupting, talking only about themselves or not starting conversations
• Not understanding body language
• Being sexually explicit or swearing lots.
What can a speech therapist do for cognitive communication disorder?
We assess using cognitive communication assessments and gather information about the person themselves to ensure we are providing patient-centered and motivating therapy to improve the persons communication and support to family members.