People with concussions get checked out pretty thoroughly by their doctors, but for some, there are cognitive changes and deficits that doctors don’t pick up.
"They focus on being able to walk and being able to move around, being able to do the activities that you need to do. But something like cognition and communication, those are a little bit more nuanced," said Rocío Norman, PhD, an assistant professor at UT Health San Antonio.
Even mild cognitive deficits can impact a person’s ability to communicate.
"Like being able to have a conversation with two of your friends at the same time, going to a restaurant and having a conversation with someone while there's noise around you," Norman said.
Norman has studied cognition and communication after concussion, and she said communication deficits can linger and leave people isolated. It can hold them back at work and can lead to anxiety and depression.
So if you or one of your kids suffer a mild TBI, Norman recommends considering a more thorough workup.
"I think if you have any suspicion of having any kind of language or cognitive problem, a referral to speech language pathology is more than appropriate. If there's not a speech language pathologist, occupational therapy or neuropsychology would also be appropriate," she said.
Norman thinks we also need better tools to detect even mild cognitive deficits sooner.
Science & Medicine is a collaboration between TPR and The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio that explores how scientific discovery in San Antonio advances the way medicine is practiced everywhere.
