scholarly journals The Cognitive-Communication Checklist for Acquired Brain Injury: A Means of Identifying, Recording, and Tracking Communication Impairments

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-16
Author(s):  
Sheila MacDonald
Keyword(s):  
Brain Injury ◽  
Lived Experience ◽  
Brain Injuries ◽  
Acquired Brain Injury ◽  
Service Needs ◽  
Communication Service ◽  
Funding Sources ◽  
Premature Discharge ◽  
Communication Impairments ◽  
Referral Tool

Purpose The communication service needs of individuals with acquired brain injuries (ABIs) are frequently overlooked, leading to delays, denials, or premature discharge from communication interventions. This is particularly true for those with subtle cognitive-communication deficits, which may not be apparent until sufficiently challenged at work, in school, or in the community. The purpose of this study was to evaluate a referral tool that could promote understanding of the broad range of communication impairments that occur following ABI and lead to improved identification and referral. Method This study evaluated the Cognitive-Communication Checklist for Acquired Brain Injury (CCCABI) through a survey. The CCCABI is a referral tool that summarizes 45 communication difficulties in 10 areas of cognitive-communication functioning. One hundred sixteen speech-language pathologists, 34 multidisciplinary referral sources, and 41 individuals with lived experience of brain injury were surveyed to evaluate the utility of this referral tool. Results The need for such a referral tool was endorsed by 96% of speech-language pathology respondents, 91% of multidisciplinary respondents, and 100% of respondents with lived experience of brain injury. Responses supported the CCCABI as a clear, comprehensive, and accessible tool for education and identification of the communication impairments that can occur after ABI. Conclusion The CCCABI is a means of increasing understanding of communication service needs following ABI in a manner that is accessible to individuals, families, program designers, funding sources, administrators, and multidisciplinary referral sources.

General Considerations for Conducting Online Qualitative Research and Practice Implications for Interviewing People with Acquired Brain Injury

2021 ◽  
Vol 20 ◽  
pp. 160940692110196
Author(s):  
Megan Topping ◽  
Jacinta Douglas ◽  
Dianne Winkler
Keyword(s):  
Qualitative Research ◽  
Brain Injury ◽  
Lived Experience ◽  
Qualitative Methodology ◽  
Acquired Brain Injury ◽  
Face To Face ◽  
Global Pandemic ◽  
Increased Risk ◽  
Communication Impairments ◽  
Methodological Considerations

Qualitative methodology is key to understanding the lived experience of people with acquired brain injury (ABI). However, as demonstrated during the global pandemic (COVID-19), face-to-face interviewing is not always viable. This lack of availability has been particularly relevant for people with disability who are at increased risk of contracting the virus and experiencing poorer outcomes. Fortunately, advancing technologies provide increasing opportunities for communicating online, thus it is plausible for qualitative disability researchers to adapt to remote interviewing. People with ABI often experience varying degrees of cognitive and communication impairments and therefore require specific considerations in the planning of research projects. In this paper, we examine learnings from existing literature around online qualitative research, specifically for videoconference, focus groups and email-interviewing methods. The key aim is to map out the practical, ethical and methodological considerations when adapting research to an online environment. As interviewing people with ABI online has received little attention in the literature, learnings from broader disability populations and the general population inform much of the considerations. Thus, the suggestions for practice are likely to be relevant to a broader population, but specific implications for people with ABI are discussed. Overall, we propose that it is viable, and sometimes preferable, to utilize online interview techniques but researchers must take care to consider the practical, ethical and methodological implications of doing so.

scholarly journals Sharing stories of lived experience: A qualitative analysis of the intersection of experiences between storytellers with acquired brain injury and storytelling facilitators

2020 ◽  
Vol 83 (9) ◽  
pp. 576-584 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kate D’Cruz ◽  
Jacinta Douglas ◽  
Tanya Serry
Keyword(s):  
Brain Injury ◽  
Lived Experience ◽  
Interpersonal Relationships ◽  
Social Connectedness ◽  
Acquired Brain Injury ◽  
Theory Approach ◽  
Injury Rehabilitation ◽  
Building Relationships ◽  
Severe Acquired Brain Injury ◽  
Story Sharing

Introduction Narrative storytelling is a relational process. While interest in storytelling in brain injury rehabilitation is increasing, little attention has been directed to the interpersonal relationships experienced through storytelling. As part of a larger study exploring narrative storytelling, this paper reports on the intersection of experiences between those sharing their story and those listening to the story. Method A qualitative grounded theory approach informed all stages of the study. In-depth interviews were conducted with adult storytellers with severe acquired brain injury and facilitators of a storytelling advocacy programme. Findings Analysis of the intersection of data from 28 transcripts of interviews with eight storytellers and six facilitators was conducted. Two key relationships emerged to be central to the storytelling experience: (1) a collaborative partnership between the storytellers and the advocacy organisation, and (2) an intentional story-sharing relationship between the storytellers and facilitators. The advocacy context of helping others through story-sharing was central to the meaningfulness of the experience. Conclusion Narrative storytelling is a social relationship experience with much potential for building relationships in rehabilitation. Sharing stories of lived experience of disability presents an opportunity for meaningful occupational engagement, enabling social connectedness and contribution to society.

A co-design approach to examine and develop pathways to open employment for people with acquired brain injury

2020 ◽  
pp. 1-17
Author(s):  
Em Bould ◽  
Libby Callaway
Keyword(s):  
Brain Injury ◽  
Lived Experience ◽  
Acquired Brain Injury ◽  
Design Approach ◽  
Workplace Diversity ◽  
Diversity And Inclusion ◽  
Barriers To Employment ◽  
Economic Participation ◽  
Employment Rates ◽  
Key Staff

Abstract Background and objectives: People with acquired brain injury (ABI) have traditionally experienced low employment rates, compared with the national average and others with disability in Australia. To positively impact mainstream economic participation following ABI, a co-design approach was used to investigate open employment pathways available and consider necessary pathway features to enable employment for people with ABI. Method: A qualitative focus group methodology was used with four groups: people with ABI; health professionals working with this group; employers providing work for people with ABI and social and injury insurers funding employment services. The project was delivered in two phases: (1) review existing work pathways in Australia and gather knowledge about enablers and barriers to employment following ABI and (2) use ABI lived experience, employers’ experience and allied health and social insurer expertise to develop a new pathway to mainstream employment. Results: Co-design helped to identify enablers and barriers to employment of people with ABI, as well as practical strategies to facilitate workplace diversity and inclusion. Enablers included replacing interviews with an onsite assessment to meet key staff and trial work tasks, employer education on ABI, the use of compensatory cognitive aides and graded on-the-job support. This guided the development of a new employment pathway, tailored for people with ABI, called ‘Employment CoLab’. Conclusions: The Employment CoLab pathway, when coupled with person-centred collaborative and effective social disability insurance approaches, offers opportunities to build inclusive, sustainable and scalable economic participation and mainstream wages for people with ABI.

scholarly journals Executive Function Evaluation System Based on Wiping Desk Behavior in Virtual Space

2020 ◽  
Vol 9 (4) ◽  
pp. 149-159
Author(s):  
Sho Ooi ◽  
◽  
Akihito Mihara ◽  
Mutsuo Sano ◽  
Hajime Tabuchi ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Executive Function ◽  
Brain Injury ◽  
Real Time ◽  
Evaluation System ◽  
Brain Injuries ◽  
Acquired Brain Injury ◽  
Virtual Space ◽  
Dynamic Evaluation ◽  
Time Dynamic ◽  
Cleaning Behavior

In this study, we report the development of a virtual reality (VR) system that evaluates executive function based on cleaning behaviors in real-time. It is known that patients with acquired brain injuries present adverse symptoms such as attention, memory, and functional disorders, as well as aphasia. Current methods to evaluate acquired brain injuries include tests such as the behavioral assessment of the dysexecutive syndrome (BADS) and digital clinical assessment for attention (D-CAT) tests; however, these tests require special/specific toolkits, and the methods are rigorous when applied for real-time dynamic evaluation. Moreover, patients are often burdened by the need to undergo paper tests as required by the evaluation methods. In this context, we propose and verify the efficacy of a method that offers real-time dynamic evaluation of acquired brain injury based on daily-living activities such as cooking, cleaning, and shopping. In this study, we focus on executive function relating to acquired brain injury, and we propose a real-time dynamic evaluation method for executive functioning using VR, which enables the automatic evaluation of subjects’ table-cleaning behavior. Our results indicate that our system can automatically assess subjects’ table cleaning behavior based on BADS test, while affording a cleaning behavior maximum average accuracy of 75.5%.

scholarly journals Children with Acquired Brain Injury (ABI)

2020 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. 19
Author(s):  
Daphin Nazareth Fernandez
Keyword(s):  
Brain Injury ◽  
Brain Tumour ◽  
Traffic Accidents ◽  
Brain Injuries ◽  
Road Traffic ◽  
Acquired Brain Injury ◽  
Traumatic Brain Injuries ◽  
Road Traffic Accidents ◽  
The Uk

Traumatic brain injuries following road traffic accidents, stroke, brain tumour, and its treatment constitute a large proportion of children with acquired brain injury (ABI). There are at least 35,000 children being admitted due to traumatic acquired brain injury (ABI) annually in the UK (1).

scholarly journals An Integrative Neuro-Psychotherapy Treatment to Foster the Adjustment in Acquired Brain Injury Patients—A Randomized Controlled Study

2020 ◽  
Vol 9 (6) ◽  
pp. 1684
Author(s):  
Antoine Urech ◽  
Tobias Krieger ◽  
Eveline Frischknecht ◽  
Franziska Stalder-Lüthy ◽  
Martin grosse Holtforth ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Depressive Symptoms ◽  
Brain Injury ◽  
Brain Injuries ◽  
Controlled Trial ◽  
Acquired Brain Injury ◽  
Post Treatment ◽  
Controlled Study ◽  
Randomized Controlled ◽  
Treatment Standard

Adjustment disorders (AjD) with depressive symptoms following an acquired brain injury (ABI) is a common phenomenon. Although brain injuries are increasing more and more, research on psychological therapies is comparably scarce. The present study compared, by means of a randomized controlled trial (RCT), a newly developed integrative treatment (Standard PLUS) to a standard neuropsychological treatment (Standard). Primary outcomes were depressive symptoms assessed with the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI-II) at post-treatment and 6-month follow-up assessment. In total, 25 patients (80% after a stroke) were randomized to one of the two conditions. Intention-to-treat analyses showed that the two groups did not significantly differ either at post-treatment nor at follow-up assessment regarding depressive symptoms. Both treatments showed large within-group effect sizes on depressive symptoms. Regarding secondary outcomes, patients in the Standard PLUS condition reported more emotion regulation skills at post-assessment than in the control condition. However, this difference was not present anymore at follow-up assessment. Both treatments showed medium to large within-group effects sizes on most measures for patients suffering from an AjD after ABI. More research with larger samples is needed to investigate who profits from which intervention.

Investigating music-based cognitive rehabilitation for individuals with moderate to severe chronic acquired brain injury: A feasibility experiment

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-12
Author(s):  
Cheryl Jones ◽  
Nicole Richard ◽  
Michael Thaut
Keyword(s):  
Brain Injury ◽  
Cognitive Rehabilitation ◽  
Brain Injuries ◽  
Acquired Brain Injury ◽  
Preliminary Evidence ◽  
Control Group ◽  
Digit Symbol ◽  
Significant Difference ◽  
Post Test ◽  
Attention Process Training

BACKGROUND: Acquired brain injuries often cause cognitive impairment, significantly impacting participation in rehabilitation and activities of daily living. Music can influence brain function, and thus may serve as a uniquely powerful cognitive rehabilitation intervention. OBJECTIVE: This feasibility study investigated the potential effectiveness of music-based cognitive rehabilitation for adults with chronic acquired brain injury. METHODS: The control group participated in three Attention Process Training (APT) sessions, while the experimental group participated in three Music Attention Control Training (MACT) sessions. Pre-and post- testing used the Trail Making A & B, Digit Symbol, and Brown-Peterson Task as neuropsychological tests. RESULTS: ANOVA analyses showed no significant difference between groups for Trail A Test, Digit Symbol, and Brown-Peterson Task. Trail B showed significant differences at post-test favouring MACT over APT. The mean difference time between pre-and post-tests for the Trail B Test was also significantly different between APT and MACT in favour of MACT using a two-sample t-test as well as a follow-up nonparametric Mann Whitney U-test. CONCLUSIONS: The group differences found in the Trail B tests provided preliminary evidence for the efficacy of MACT to arouse and engage attention in adults with acquired brain injury.

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