Cognitive Rehabilitation

The Franklin office offers cognitive therapy for the adolescent and adult population.  Karen Sartin, Speech-Language Pathologist, has many years of experience serving patients who have cognitive impairments.  Karen’s clients may have cognitive-communication disorders as a result of a Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI), or stroke (CVA), or any other illness or injury that may present with neurological difficulties. 

The American Speech-Language and Hearing Association (ASHA) defines a cognitive-communication disorder as follows:

Cognitive-communication disorders encompass difficulty with any aspect of communication that is affected by disruption of cognition. Communication may be verbal or nonverbal and includes listening, speaking, gesturing, reading, and writing in all domains of language (phonologic, morphologic, syntactic, semantic, and pragmatic). Cognition includes cognitive processes and systems (e.g., attention, perception, memory, organization, executive function). Areas of function affected by cognitive impairments include behavioral self-regulation, social interaction, activities of daily living, learning and academic performance, and vocational performance.

Cognitive-communication disorders may be congenital or acquired. Congenital etiologies include but are not limited to genetic disorders and pre-, peri-, and postnatal neurologic injuries and diseases. Acquired etiologies include but are not limited to stroke, brain tumor, traumatic brain injury, anoxic or toxic encephalopathy, and nondegenerative and degenerative neurologic diseases (including the dementias).

Given the high incidence and prevalence of cognitive-communication disorders and their potentially serious consequences—including negative impact on social, academic, and vocational success; on quality of life; and on caretakers and personal finances—appropriate preventive efforts, assessment, diagnosis, and management are critical.