Hi madoak, Iave never been a napper, always worked fulltime....until TBI.....I have to rest now inbetween whatever task I have done/tried to do. I have improved over time, but brain fatigue can be overwhelming. My injury was many years ago, no coma, and doctors often did not have a clue. I'm on disability, don't know if that is an option for you, it was really hard for me to apply because my identity was my job.

I'll tell you what helped me because word finding, short-term memory made keeping a conversation going difficult. I practiced talking on the phone by calling toll free numbers from the yellow pages, places of business, and asked questions. This was not easy at first, in fact it was hard, the back and forth of info. sharing takes practice, executive functions, but the more I did it the easier it became. Also, could you write "cheat sheets", greetings you could,would use in the job answering phones? I don't know if you will be among other people or by yourself. It's very hard, I one day had a good income, the next day on medical leave with very little money.

Just remember you're doing the best you can, all you can do is try. You are not alone and it just may take longer for your brain to be able to function like you used to, improvements will come in time....I'm not so patient, it took me trial and error, practice, frustration too. I use to write very short posts, mostly because I'd lose my train of thought, lately they are getting longer and longer, I feel like my vocabulary has gotten larger, that has to be from practice, excercising my brain. Don't get down on yourself, been there too, many of us have...we understand !! Hope this helped and more will chime in with advice! Hang in there!!

This may sound a bit strange, have you tried singing along with some of your old songs at home? just to get the word flow back. Or saying something as your reply to someone on tv or the radio? Not what you will be doing I know, but helped me get the words going a bit better. Good luck, takes courage to do what your doing. Give time, time.

Really interesting replies and helpful. You know, I used to sing in a choir but even in my head, the words get so jumbly now that I end up stuttering and stammering when I try to sing out loud. But...perhaps would be a very good thing to 'practice'. The cheat sheet thing also sounds good because having a hard copy in front of me would also give me focus to be able to block out any other requests or words coming in that could interrupt my concentration. It's worth a try anyway. Anything's better than that awful embarrassment that I had yesterday. I do get a very small pension, but not really enough to live on. Anyway, thanks so much you guys.

I don't have any answers but wanted to give you Kudos for the effort. It is really a challenge you are taking on. I wish you the best. A cheat sheet would be a great idea.

Best wishes. -RJ

Madoak, that happens to me. I cant help it. It is part of TBI. I am on disability, but forget my physical injuries. I would have to be anyway. In fact all my memory but my long term memory an now current stuff but that took a year and a half of very hard work and discipline. I don't know since you need money now, what to tell you, but TBI is a qualifier I know that because I went to neurologists including my brother who would not let me go back to work. They are on the web under the Neuro Science Center and I got bio feed back there. Good luck sweety.

Oops I realize you can still work part time duh. Sorry, I know we had this conv. before ,my bad. Find something else that dosnt require that kind of skill. Don't give up. It is out there, just believe in you. That is what I did and that is how I remembered my screw up. Have faith. Good luck madoak...............................