Right Hemisphere Disorder
On this page:
- About Right Hemisphere Disorder
- Signs of Right Hemisphere Disorder
- Treatment for Right Hemisphere DIsorder
- Tips for Helping Someone With Right Hemisphere Disorder
- Other Resources
About Right Hemisphere Disorder
Right hemisphere disorder, or RHD, happens when the right side of the brain is injured. Our brains have two sides, or hemispheres. In most people, the right side of the brain controls thinking skills and other skills needed for clear, effective communication. People with RHD may have problems with these skills and may seem different than before the injury. In many cases, the person with RHD is not aware of their problems. Stroke, tumors, infections, and traumatic brain injury can cause RHD.
A speech-language pathologist, or SLP, will test your loved one’s speech, language, and thinking skills after a brain injury. The SLP will look at how they communicate—and if they have problems understanding others. The SLP will also test their attention, memory, reasoning, and problem solving.
Signs of Right Hemisphere Disorder
A person with RHD may have trouble with the following functions of the brain:
- Attention. They may be distracted or unable to focus.
- Awareness of the left side. They may have left-side neglect. This means that they will not be aware of objects or people on their left side. For example, they may have trouble finding words on the left side of a page. They may ignore food on the left side of their plate.
- Reasoning and problem solving. They may not recognize problems, like running out of medicine. Or they may not know how to solve problems, like calling the doctor or pharmacy for a medication refill.
- Memory. They may not remember information they learned before or may have trouble learning new information.
- Social skills. They may talk more or less than they used to. They may have trouble staying on topic or may interrupt. They may misunderstand jokes, plays on words, sarcasm, or facial expressions.
- Organization. They may have difficulty organizing their thoughts. This can cause problems when telling stories or giving directions. They may also have trouble planning. So, they might forget to respond to your calls or emails, or they may lose things.
- Insight. They may not realize that they have experienced any changes after their brain injury. Or they may not realize that they are struggling to function in their daily life at home, school, or work.
Treatment for Right Hemisphere Disorder
The SLP will work with your loved one to improve their skills. Treatment will depend on the problems that they have. The SLP may need to help them become aware of these problems and may suggest tools that will help them. For example, they may need a calendar to help remember what they have to do each day. The goal is to help them do the activities they want and need to do in their daily life.
Tips for Helping Someone With Right Hemisphere Disorder
- Be patient. Ask questions if you don’t understand what the person with RHD means.
- Use plain language. Sarcasm and sayings like “It’s raining cats and dogs” can be hard for a person with RHD to understand..
- Help the person with RHD develop a consistent daily routine.
- Break down directions into small steps.
- Repeat directions as needed.
- Limit distractions. Talk to them in quiet places. Turn off the TV. This will help them pay attention.
- Help them remember important things. Remind them of appointments. Help make sure that they take their medications on time. Use calendars, reminders, and notepads to support memory.
- Make sure that your loved one has help at home and in the community if they have difficulty staying safe.
- Stand to their right side and put objects to their right if they has left-side neglect.
To find a speech-language pathologist near you, visit ProFind.
Other Resources
This list does not include every website on this topic. ASHA does not endorse the information on these sites.
