Social communication following traumatic brain injury part I: State-of-the-art review of assessment tools

A Conceptual Framework of Social Communication: Clinical Applications to Pediatric Traumatic Brain Injury

“…Joint attention is also understood to be a critical contributor to language development and social communication skills, given that the acquisition of language can only be achieved through social interaction with others. [46][47][48][49] Thus, socioemotional components of social cognition are directly related to and overlap with several components of social communication, such as the capacity to recognize emotion in others and infer their thoughts and desired intent through their communication and behavior. 50 SOCIAL also posits that social cognition, and ultimately social competence, is influenced by a range of internal factors that are intrinsic to the individual, and external factors that represent a person's context and environment.…”

“…This view is also in keeping with the views of Ylvisaker and Feeney who espoused that assessments should be individualized, collaborative, ongoing, and embedded in everyday routines, with hypothesis testing used to inform and alter intervention plans. 47,77 To this end, assessment of social skills/competencies and the component domains often relies heavily on parent and teacher reports. However, as norm-referenced measures are also an important part of the assessment process, current practices often require professionals to evaluate these skills via informal administration of assessment tools that were normed on adults or normed on children with neurodevelopment disorders where social communication deficits are often seen (i.e., autism spectrum disorder).…”

“…4,14,47,[78][79][80] Perhaps, the biggest hurdle clinicians face in assessing social communication skills is evaluating clients within the actual environments in which the child participates. 47 For the purpose of this article, and, ideally, for all clinical assessments of social communication, the selection of assessment tools and methods is rooted in the goal of developing a functional, personally relevant intervention plan for clients, to determine appropriate supports, and to ease barriers. 47,77 To address these needs, the assessment of social communication skills in children with TBI should be by necessity, a collaborative process, and grounded in a theoretical model.…”

“…47 For the purpose of this article, and, ideally, for all clinical assessments of social communication, the selection of assessment tools and methods is rooted in the goal of developing a functional, personally relevant intervention plan for clients, to determine appropriate supports, and to ease barriers. 47,77 To address these needs, the assessment of social communication skills in children with TBI should be by necessity, a collaborative process, and grounded in a theoretical model. 79,81,82 The expanded SoCom model put forth in this article acknowledges the complex nature of social communication by considering external and internal factors, communication skills, and cognitive factors that impact social communication skills.…”

“…It incorporates hypothesis testing to inform and alter intervention plans. 47,77 Assessment begins with a functional question about a child's behavior that has arisen in a given setting, such as at school, as well as an array of hypotheses from various individuals about possible causes for that behavior.…”