Cognitive
Communication

Cognitive-communication disorders as defined by the American Speech Language Hearing Association (ASHA) are difficulties with any aspect of communication that is affected by disruption of cognition. Cognition, when referred to in the scope of speech language pathology, includes the following processes: attention, memory, problem solving and executive functioning. Typically, cognitive-communication disorders are a result of an injury to the brain such as a traumatic brain injury (TBI), stroke or a neurological condition such as dementia. 

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Someone with a cognitive-communication disorder may struggle with organizing and planning out the tasks they need to accomplish in a day, forget appointments and other commitments, or be unable to split their attention between tasks as they once could. Cognitive impairments can affect many areas such as speech, language, social skills, behavior and even writing skills depending on the underlying cause of the impairment. 

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A speech-language pathologist (SLP) is able to assess the different areas of cognition in order to determine which area(s) may be impaired and the level of severity. SLPs are unable to provide a diagnosis such as a TBI, stroke or dementia (these are received from medical professionals). However, SLPs can address the deficits caused by these conditions and work towards improving, altering, augmenting or compensating for the area(s) of concern.