Background: People with an acquired brain injury (ABI) can struggle to use social media after their injury, due to changes in their cognitive-communication skills, and would like help to improve their skills and connectivity. A focus group study in one Australian brain injury rehabilitation service recently found that ABI rehabilitation…

Background: Spoken discourse is commonly affected after traumatic brain injury (TBI). Although guidelines recommend prioritizing discourse-level skills in cognitive communication management, previous literature has highlighted challenges in managing discourse clinically. Little is known about how speech-language pathologists (SLPs) assess and…

Background: Impaired discourse production is commonly reported for individuals with traumatic brain injury (TBI). Discourse deficits can negatively impact community integration, return to employment and quality of life. COVID-19 restrictions have reduced in-person assessment services for people with communication impairments. Advances in…

Childhood acquired brain injury (ABI) is associated with poorer life outcomes. Increasing numbers of children and young people are surviving severe brain injury and returning to mainstream schools with multiple impairments. It is widely acknowledged that for these children, their school becomes by default their rehabilitation centre. International…

Background: Spoken discourse impairments post-traumatic brain injury (TBI) are well-documented and heterogeneous in nature. These impairments have chronic implications for adults in terms of employment, socializing and community involvement. Intervention delivered by a speech-language pathologist (SLP) is recommended for adults with discourse…

Background: Rehabilitation for cognitive-communication impairments following brain injury can be complex given the heterogenous nature of impairments post injury. Project-based intervention has the potential to improve communication skills and create a meaningful real-life context where individuals collaborate to develop a concrete product, which…

Background: Whilst research into the wide-ranging needs of family members following traumatic brain injury (TBI) is well established, investigation into the specific needs of families in relation to supporting cognitive-communication difficulties, relationships and social participation is limited. Aims: To identify the family needs for…

Every year in the UK, a significant number of children sustain a moderate or severe traumatic brain injury (TBI). Children who sustain a moderate or severe TBI have been shown to experience continuing neurological decline in two or more domains up to five years post-injury. Environmental enrichment (EE)--which involves supplementing an environment…

Background and Objective: This article compares the policy, care systems, and legislation surrounding acquired brain injury (ABI) in the United Kingdom (UK) and the United States (US). Consistent with their shared histories, many similarities in terms of culture, language, and politics, and their history of cooperative relations in military and…

Background: Commissioners and providers require information relating to the number of people requiring a service in order to ensure provision is appropriate and equitable for the population they serve. There is little epidemiological evidence available regarding the prevalence of people who could benefit from augmentative and alternative…

Zara Roberts was 18 and planning a career in teaching when a horrendous car crash left her in a coma, with severe injuries to her brain and body. Doctors rated her chance of survival at five percent. Yet, just six years later, she is well on the way to becoming a support worker for special needs children, and, this month, is being recognised for…

Background: The psychosocial impact of acquired dysarthria on the speaker is well recognized. To date, speech-and-language therapists have no instrument available to measure this construct. This has implications for outcome measurement and for planning intervention. This paper describes the Dysarthria Impact Profile (DIP), an instrument that has…

Two patients with medial frontal lobe damage involving the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) performed a range of cognitive tasks, including tests of executive function and anterior attention. Both patients lesions extended beyond the ACC, therefore caution needs to be exerted in ascribing observed deficits to the ACC alone. Patient performance was…

The aim of this study was to relate discharge King's Outcome Scale for Childhood Head Injury (KOSCHI) category to injury severity and detailed outcome measures obtained in the first year post-traumatic brain injury (TBI). We used a prospective cohort study. Eighty-one children with TBI were studied: 29 had severe, 15 moderate, and 37 mild TBI. The…

Educational services provided to 14 children (ages 8 to 14) with head injuries in the United Kingdom before and after their return to school were analyzed. The organization of services and the provision of accurate information, training, and communication among different agencies are all found to be inadequate. (Author)