When your child was born, you probably dreamt up ways of giving him every possible advantage in life – from cloth diapering to the latest high-tech strollers. Unfortunately, life sometimes throws you a curve ball. It’s heart-wrenching when your child suffers a serious accident. A traumatic brain injury (TBI) can severely affect your child’s communication skills. Children who are recovering from a TBI often have trouble with social communication skills, such as taking turns in a conversation, responding to body language, using an appropriate tone of voice, and interpreting the nuances of conversation (i.e. sarcasm). Your child might also have trouble understanding both spoken and written language or finding the right words to express himself. Problems with writing, spelling, and reading are also common.
Despite your child’s injury, you can still give him every possible advantage by working with his care team, including a speech-language pathologist (SLP). Your child’s SLP will develop a treatment plan to improve his communication skills. These days, many SLPs are incorporating technology into treatment with the use of specialized apps. You can use apps at home to facilitate your child’s progress. Here are a few apps that can address some of the issues that can result from a TBI.