Common Causes of Acquired Brain Injury

“Although the world is full of suffering, it is full also of the overcoming of it.”

– Helen Keller

An acquired brain injury (ABI) is damage to the brain that occurs after birth. It is not related to a developmental disability or congenital disorders (such as Autism Spectrum Disorder or Down syndrome), nor to diseases (such as Alzheimer’s Disease or Parkinson’s Disease), which can progressively damage the brain.

A brain injury can happen suddenly. The most common causes of ABI today are motor vehicle accidents, strokes, falls, sports-related concussions, bicycle accidents and strangulation.

An ABI will impact each individual in different ways as there are so many skills governed by the human brain. Some may experience organization and planning difficulties for example, while others may have problems with attention or memory, or struggle to formulate their thoughts into words.

While it’s never good news when ABI occurs, there is the potential for improvement and to return to many daily life activities. Within the first two years after an injury, the human brain works hard to heal itself, so therapy during this time can be particularly beneficial. But even if therapy has been delayed beyond the two-year mark, improvement continues to be possible with the right strategies.

S.L. Hunter & Associates has an entire team of highly-skilled, duly qualified and caring Speech-Language Pathologists and Communicative Disorders Assistants who are trained to help people with ABI. They provide assessment and intervention sessions – in a variety of settings – tailored to the needs of each client.

The offices of S.L. Hunter & Associates are located at 5195 Harvester Rd. Unit 4B. They can be reached by telephone at 905-637-5522 or online at www.slhunter.ca.