Unlike a person who has a developmental disability, a person with an acquired brain injury is often acutely aware of the limitations caused by his or her brain injury. This is experienced as a significant loss. The person remembers the activities that could be done prior to his or her injury when resuming life.

Other emotional and behavioral impairments common to brain injury include: fatigue, mood swings, denial, anxiety, lowered self-esteem, lack of motivation, difficulty with emotional control and anger management, sexual dysfunction, inability to self-monitor, and difficulty in relating to others.

It is important to note that there is a great variation in impairments due to brain injury, because damage to different parts of the brain can affect a variety of aspects of functioning in the world: thinking, feeling, moving, or behavior.