Video-based administration of the La Trobe Communication Questionnaire for adults with traumatic brain injury and their communication partners

Abstract

Primary objective: To explore the use of direct video-based review for administration of the LaTrobe Communication Questionnaire (LCQ), and explore use of the LCQ as a tool for identifying and prioritizing targets for partner-based intervention.Research design: Between-groups design comparing self-vs partner ratings of social communication behaviours in conversation and qualitative analysis of response patterns and participant feedback. Methods and procedures: Eight adults with moderate-to-severe TBI and their partners engaged in 20-minute videotaped conversations, elicited using a topic-starter task. Each participant with TBI and his or her partner then completed the LCQ while viewing the dyad's videotaped conversation. Self-and partner ratings of the person with TBI were compared to each other and to published LCQ data. Main outcomes and results: Based on direct review of their videotaped conversations, six of eight individuals with TBI rated themselves as having more frequent problem behaviours than did their partners. Overall agreement between individuals with TBI and their partners was 0.70. Conclusions: The present study suggests that direct review of videotaped conversations might avoid some of the limitations associated with recall of previous events, which can be biased toward negative events and confounded by memory impairments in individuals with TBI. Participants stated that the video segment reflected their typical interactions and, thus, behaviours observed in this context could serve as a starting point for intervention planning. IntroductionSustainable social integration for persons with traumatic brain injury (TBI) depends in part upon the success of their interactions with their close partners [1,2]. Persons with TBI often demonstrate social communication problems, however, which may strain everyday relationships and potentially endanger the longevity of these relationships [3-10]. These problems include tangential comments, verbosity, perseveration, interruptions and lost train of thought [11,12], all of which can add to the listener's burden in conversation [1, 2] and discourage social interactions. Providing partners with knowledge and skills that foster more successful communication interactions can reduce partner burden and strain on relationships. Partner-based intervention also is consistent with the current models of health outcomes [13] and models for TBI intervention [14][15][16], in which communication partners are considered to be essential stakeholders in intervention for the person with TBI and the clinician's role shifts from expert 'fixer' to co-facilitator of change.

Joint Video Self-Modeling as a Conversational Intervention for an Individual with Traumatic Brain Injury and His Everyday Partner: A Pilot Investigation

“…In particular, L2 prompts appear less effective in eliciting judgments. Discrepancy scores on the LCQ, between self and proxy ratings by individuals with TBI and close partners respectively, have been used as indicators of self-awareness and metacognition [6,22,37]. While the close others' ratings remained stable, ratings by the individual with TBI increased, suggesting more awareness.…”

“…All iPod videos were downloaded to a secure drive, accessible only to the researchers. The La Trobe Communication Questionnaire (LCQ) [71] was used to examine perceived frequency of troublesome social discourse behaviors, following Hoepner and Turkstra's [37] method of direct review (i.e., participants viewed a video re-…”

“…Reducing demands on retrospective recall likely increases accuracy of judgments by the individual with a TBI and their everyday partner. Hoepner and Turkstra [37] found that direct video review of self-and partner-assessments using the La Trobe Communication Questionnaire (LCQ) produced improved consensus on both effective and challenging interactional behaviors. Identifying consensus, in this manner, may provide an effective starting point for joint interventions addressing conversational interactions.…”

Setting and achieving individualized social communication goals for people with acquired brain injury (ABI) within a group treatment

“…). In addition, reviewing videotaped conversations of an individual has been suggested as a starting point for setting goals and planning treatment (Hoepner and Turkstra ).…”