I'm a speech-language pathologist & co-founder of Tactus. Tactus offers evidence-based apps for aphasia therapy and lots of free resources, articles, and education - like this newsletter. Sign up to get my updates 1-2 times a month.
👀 You see the deficit. They don’t. Now what?
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Ever had this happen? "Hi, Mr. S, I’m a speech therapist. I can help with swallowing, memory, attention, problem solving… are you noticing any problems in those areas?" …But you’ve read the chart. You know he had a TBI. You start testing, and he can’t recall items, struggles to find words, and doesn't have awareness of any of it. 🧐 The family might not see it either at first—because, well, he says he's fine... Approximately 77–97% of people with TBI have limited awareness at discharge; 66–88% continue to show deficits in awareness in the subacute stage; 35–60% still have reduced insight 6–10 months later (Steward & Kretzmer, 2022)
If you work in brain injury or stroke rehab, you know how big a role awareness plays in recovery. Without it, there’s no buy-in for therapy, no strategy use, and no insight into safety risks. 😬 And we recognize when there's reduced awareness, but other than documenting the issue, how do we go about assessing it? And once we do, how do we treat it? 🤔 We've got you covered. Check out our NEW blog: What SLPs Need to Know: Awareness. 🤓
The Awareness Blog Includes:
Thanks for doing the deep, thoughtful work of helping your patients not only improve, but understand why and how they need to. Here’s to raising awareness about awareness. 😉 All the best, Megan P.S. Want to learn more about awareness? Check out our NEW blog here: https://tactustherapy.com/treating-awareness-after-brain-injury-slp/ |
Megan @ Tactus Therapy
I'm a speech-language pathologist & co-founder of Tactus. Tactus offers evidence-based apps for aphasia therapy and lots of free resources, articles, and education - like this newsletter. Sign up to get my updates 1-2 times a month.
Last week, we shared our NEWEST blog: What SLPs Need to Know: Awareness. It's full of free resources (like PROMs), practical strategies, and research insights. We were thrilled to see your positive feedback and shares—thank you! 🙌 Tactus includes a small team of SLPs who are passionate about creating research-backed resources for SLPs. That includes every blog post, handout, and activity inside the Virtual Rehab Center—so your kind words truly mean the world to us. 💛 💬 “Oops, I Forgot...”...
I’ve worked with many individuals and families affected by aphasia — and one thing I hear all the time is: “We never heard of aphasia until we got the diagnosis.” If that’s you, you’re not alone. Many people don’t know what aphasia is until it hits close to home. 🧠 Did you know? Aphasia affects at least 2 million people in the U.S. 1 in 3 strokes result in aphasia. More people have aphasia than Parkinson’s disease or cerebral palsy. 84.5% of people have never heard of aphasia. 🤯 Source:...
While we used to write and mail letters to keep in touch 📬, today's communication is largely done instantly online. 💬 Whether you email, text, or comment and post on social media, we're writing as much or more these days than ever before. According to the PEW Research Center, only 5% of U.S. adults used social media in 2005, but by 2021, that number jumped up to 72%! 🤯 But after a stroke or brain injury, writing can get harder. This is called agraphia, a loss of written expression. ✍️...