Right hemisphere disorder: communication and cognition after right-side brain injury, per ASHA
ASHA’s Practice Portal describes right hemisphere disorder (RHD) as a set of deficits linked to acquired right-side brain injury in adults, affecting pragmatics, discourse, and cognitive-communication skills, and lists SLP roles in assessment, counseling, and treatment. This page quotes ASHA only.
Quoted from official pages checked November 12, 2026. Confirm current information on those sites. This page is not medical advice and does not describe any patient’s care.
Source read on November 12, 2026: ASHA’s Practice Portal page Right Hemisphere Disorder.
ASHA’s Practice Portal pages are written for clinicians. Quotes below stop before ASHA’s in-text research citations.
What RHD affects
ASHA states: “RHD is most commonly caused by a stroke or other acquired brain injury (e.g., stroke, tumor) that impacts the right hemisphere of the brain.” It lists changes in pragmatics, discourse, and cognitive-communication skills, which it describes as “the cognitive skills that are needed for effective, clear communication, including attention, memory, executive function, visual-perceptual skills, and/or awareness of deficits.”
Language loss after left-side brain injury is covered on aphasia.
Roles for SLPs
- “Screening individuals with a history of right hemisphere brain injury, and determining the need for further assessment and/or referral for other services.”
- “Conducting a culturally and linguistically relevant, comprehensive assessment of language, communication, and cognition.”
- “Diagnosing cognitive and communication disorders, the characteristics of these disorders, and their functional impact.”
- “Educating and counseling people with RHD and their care partners on cognitive and communication-related issues, and facilitating participation across contexts (i.e., family, vocational, and community).”
- “Making decisions about the management of disorders related to RHD in collaboration with the patient, family, and interprofessional treatment team.”
What this page does not do
It does not repeat ASHA’s descriptions of neglect, anosognosia, or assessment tools. It is not medical advice and does not recommend any treatment, device, or product. Scope of practice is set by state law; check your state board.