Rehabilitation for cognitive-communication disorders in right hemisphere brain damage.

Abstract

Although the left hemisphere of the brain has long been linked with language, the right cerebral hemisphere also contributes importantly to cognitive operations that underlie language processing and communicative performance. Adults with right hemisphere damage (RHD) typically do not have aphasia, but they often have communication disorders that may have a substantial impact on their social functioning. After a brief summary of communicative and cognitive characteristics of RHD in adults and of extant theoretical accounts of common communicative difficulties, this article discusses rehabilitation issues, approaches, evidence, and needs.