Communication after traumatic brain injury in adolescence

Abstract

Communication in everyday life can be severely affected in adolescence after a traumatic brain injury (TBI). Abilities associated with vocal verbal response, gesture, gaze, facial expression and posture are frequently impaired. While much effort is often invested in clinical assessments, altered communicative functions in a real life setting are explored to a much lesser extent. In this case study, we discuss the usability of a triangulation of methods for analysis, involving a 16-year-old adolescent with TBI. Communication Management (CM) is explored, based on self-evaluation by the participant in video recordings of dyadic and triadic conversations. Ratings created independently by the subject and his parents on The Communicative Effectiveness Index (CETI) are analysed. A comparison is made with a selection of clinical test results on cognition, speech and language. We discuss how the methods can be applied to analyse communicative functions that are not readily detected in a clinical environment.

Communication in children and adolescents after acquired brain injury: An exploratory study

“…They can also be converted into a score by laying a template marked with 1-mm divisions over the 10-cm VAS and reading off a value between 1 and 100. The CETI has previously shown a high validity in assessment of functional communication in adult participants of different language backgrounds (36,37).…”

“…It is, at present, unclear to what extent everyday communication functions can be captured with data from tests of language and cognition in a clinical setting. As has been reported previously, participants may be able to collaborate in complex thinking and communication tasks in the clinic, but nevertheless fail to do so in an everyday environment (13). Furthermore, the use of parental evaluations requires further study, since there is increasing evidence that contextualized, familysupported interventions after ABI can be superior to rehabilitation in clinical surroundings (14).…”

Stress in communication in families taking care about persons after coma awakening

“…Empiric data were collected using open questionnaires designed according to the analysis of scientific literature (Lequerica & Neumann, 2010;Fyrberg, 2013;DeBaillie & Kosciulek, 1994) compounding three main semantic blocks. Applying qualitative type of research communication peculiarities between parents and family members awakening from coma were revealed analyzing: 1) level of parents' stress; 2) activities that help family members to cope with stress; 3) ways to solve communication problems.…”