Informal Written Language Analysis Methods: Case Examples of Adults With Traumatic Brain Injury

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-18
Author(s):  
Carly R. Dinnes ◽  
Karen Hux
Keyword(s):  
Traumatic Brain Injury ◽  
Brain Injury ◽  
Written Language ◽  
Assessment Tools ◽  
Sentence Structure ◽  
Story Grammar ◽  
Written Narratives ◽  
Case Examples ◽  
Analysis Methods ◽  
Macrostructure Organization

Purpose: Written expression challenges following traumatic brain injury (TBI) in adults have received little clinical attention but can substantially affect quality of life and the success of reintegration efforts. Assessment tools and procedures are lacking despite the likelihood of post-TBI problems with microstructure (e.g., productivity, spelling accuracy) and macrostructure (e.g., topic adherence, organization) aspects of written language. The lack of standardized procedures forces reliance on informal methods to determine writing strengths and challenges. Method: A combination of assessment procedures allowed for evaluation of the productivity and efficiency, adherence to writing conventions (e.g., spelling, sentence structure, punctuation), and macrostructure organization (e.g., story grammar, topic adherence) of written narratives collected from five adults with TBI. Results: Use of multiple assessment methods revealed disparate writing challenges across the five case examples. The differing writing profiles underscore the necessity of evaluating multiple aspects of written narratives. Conclusions: The described analysis methods can help clinicians determine areas of strength and challenge in written work generated by adults with TBI. Examination of multiple aspects of writing is key to garnering a comprehensive appraisal of post-TBI writing.

scholarly journals Correspondence of the Boston Assessment of Traumatic Brain Injury-Lifetime and In-Theater Department of Defense Medical Records

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sahra Kim ◽  
Alyssa Currao ◽  
Jennifer R. Fonda ◽  
Brigitta Beck ◽  
Alexandra Kenna ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Traumatic Brain Injury ◽  
Brain Injury ◽  
Department Of Defense ◽  
Medical Records ◽  
Brain Injuries ◽  
Injury Severity ◽  
Assessment Tools ◽  
System Level ◽  
Chi Square ◽  
Convenience Sample

Abstract Background: Since 2006, efforts have been made to increase the identification of traumatic brain injuries (TBIs) in post-9/11 military personnel. The BAT-L is the first validated instrument to diagnose TBIs throughout the lifespan in post-9/11 Veterans. The objective is to investigate the correspondence of the Boston Assessment of TBI-Lifetime (BAT-L) diagnostic prevalence and injury severity of traumatic brain injury with in-theater medical records from Department of Defense (DoD). Methods: A convenience sample of 153 Veterans deployed in 2011 enrolled in the TRACTS longitudinal cohort study was examined. Retrospective review of DoD online medical records to determine diagnostic prevalence and injury severity for all head injury cases during deployment were compared with diagnostic prevalence and injury severity from the BAT-L clinical interview using Chi-square analyses.Results: There was moderate correspondence for TBI diagnosis between the BAT-L and DoD records (κ = 0.42). Sensitivity was 72.7% and specificity was 82.8%. Comparison of injury severity also had moderate correspondence (κ = 0.41). Missing TBI diagnostic data from DoD records was frequent; 43% percent of TBIs reported on the BAT-L did not have any documentation of mTBI assessment or diagnosis in DoD records while 83% did not have in-theater documentation.Conclusions: Diagnosis of TBI via the BAT-L retrospective interview was both sensitive and specific when compared to DoD medical records. However, diagnostic correspondence was only moderate. This lack of diagnostic agreement was related to multiple factors including lack of documentation of injury, differences in assessment tools and goals, and other combat-related motivational factors associated with failure to report injuries while deployed. Several policies were implemented to address underreporting and under-documentation of TBI, yet challenges remain. Findings suggest changes at both individual-level (e.g. service members) and system-level (e.g. DoD/military branches) are needed to adequately diagnose and document all TBI during deployment.

Discourse Analysis of Humor After Traumatic Brain Injury

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-13
Author(s):  
Louise C. Keegan ◽  
Caitlin Suger ◽  
Leanne Togher
Keyword(s):  
Traumatic Brain Injury ◽  
Discourse Analysis ◽  
Brain Injury ◽  
Social Cognitive ◽  
Community Based ◽  
Behavioral Skills ◽  
Analysis Methods ◽  
Communication Difficulties ◽  
Skills Group ◽  
Severe Tbi

Purpose Individuals with cognitive communication difficulties after traumatic brain injury (TBI) often experience difficulties with social communication. Humor is a sociolinguistic skill that requires social, cognitive, emotional, and behavioral skills and, when used effectively, may serve to enhance one's social relationships. There is a paucity of research related to the use of humor in individuals with TBI. This study categorizes humor use in individuals with cognitive communication difficulties after TBI and examines the linguistic construction of these humorous exchanges. Method The humorous exchanges of nine individuals who had cognitive communication difficulties after a moderate-to-severe TBI were examined. Conversations were collected from a community-based communication skills group, categorized using thematic analysis methods, and examined linguistically using the discourse analysis tools of systemic functional linguistics. Results All participants demonstrated the ability to use a variety of categories of humor, and discourse analysis methods revealed humor use as a strength for engaging with others. Examples of such engagement include use of humor to elicit attention, assert authority, share information, acknowledge shared difficulties, and demonstrate affiliation toward their communication partners. Conclusions Discourse analysis of humor can provide speech-language pathologists with important information about the linguistic strengths of individuals with cognitive communication difficulties. This has important implications for clinical service provision.

Preinjury Psychological Factors and Case Formulation in Mild Traumatic Brain Injury Rehabilitation: A Case Report

2019 ◽  
Vol 63 (3) ◽  
pp. 156-167 ◽  
Author(s):  
Joanne E. Taylor ◽  
Renée F. Seebeck
Keyword(s):  
Traumatic Brain Injury ◽  
Brain Injury ◽  
Mild Traumatic Brain Injury ◽  
Psychological Factors ◽  
Illustrative Case ◽  
Case Formulation ◽  
Treatment Team ◽  
Mild Tbi ◽  
Case Examples ◽  
Rehabilitation Professionals

Mild traumatic brain injury (TBI) accounts for the majority of TBIs. Most cases recover within 3 months and usual medical advice covers physical and cognitive rest, activity and fatigue management, and education. However, in some cases, symptoms can persist and there may be ongoing postconcussion difficulties. It is well established that pre- and postinjury psychological factors can contribute to cases of persistent postconcussion symptoms. However, there are few illustrative case examples in the published literature on mild TBI. This case example demonstrates the pivotal role that preinjury psychological factors can play in recovery from mild TBI, using an example of a 35-year-old woman with persistent mild TBI symptoms who had a limited response to previous brief treatment through a Concussion Clinic. Through the process of assessment and development of a psychological case formulation, preinjury psychological factors that had been barriers to recovery and prior rehabilitation efforts were identified. Rehabilitation counselors are equipped to (1) identify and address such barriers, (2) communicate this information to other rehabilitation professionals in the treatment team to facilitate a shared understanding of how factors might affect the client’s functioning and (3) contribute to team case formulation.

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

2019 ◽  
Vol 21 (2) ◽  
pp. 115-127 ◽  
Author(s):  
McKay Moore Sohlberg ◽  
Sheila MacDonald ◽  
Lindsey Byom ◽  
Heidi Iwashita ◽  
Rik Lemoncello ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Traumatic Brain Injury ◽  
Brain Injury ◽  
Social Communication ◽  
State Of The Art ◽  
Assessment Tools

Monitoring Recovery of Cognitive Function Following Severe Traumatic Brain Injury

2001 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
pp. 22-28 ◽  
Author(s):  
Barbara A. Wilson ◽  
Agnes Shiel ◽  
Lindsay McLellan ◽  
Sandra Horn ◽  
Martin A. Watson
Keyword(s):  
Traumatic Brain Injury ◽  
Brain Injury ◽  
Head Injury ◽  
Severe Traumatic Brain Injury ◽  
Assessment Tool ◽  
Motor Functioning ◽  
Case Examples ◽  
Traumatic Amnesia ◽  
Severe Tbi ◽  
Minimally Conscious

AbstractWe report on the development of a new assessment tool to monitor recovery after severe traumatic brain injury (TBI). Although a number of scales exist to identify such recovery, most are limited if one is interested in monitoring small changes or in setting goals for rehabilitation. This is due to the fact that items are too broad, they may cross more than one dimension (e.g. cognition and motor functioning) and there is a danger that recording of responses may be too subjective. The Wessex Head Injury Matrix (WHIM) was developed to avoid these problems. We observed 88 people with severe TBI. These were consecutive admissions to two hospitals. Mean coma duration was 14 days and mean duration of post traumatic amnesia (PTA) was 56 days. Of 145 behaviours observed, we selected 62 and each behaviour was compared to every other behaviour to determine a likely order of recovery. The resulting WHIM is an observational tool to assess and monitor cognitive recovery after severe head injury. It can be used with patients who are in coma, just out of coma or who are minimally conscious. Two case examples are provided.

Heart Rate Variability and Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI): Clinical Applications

Biofeedback ◽  
2015 ◽  
Vol 43 (1) ◽  
pp. 27-30 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrea Reid-Chung ◽  
Michael Thompson ◽  
Lynda Thompson
Keyword(s):  
Traumatic Brain Injury ◽  
Heart Rate ◽  
Heart Rate Variability ◽  
Brain Injury ◽  
Brain Injuries ◽  
Clinical Applications ◽  
Biofeedback Training ◽  
Initial Assessment ◽  
Case Examples ◽  
Biofeedback Treatment

This paper discusses the clinical applications of heart rate variability (HRV) data in the treatment of clients who have experienced traumatic brain injuries (TBIs). In the authors' clinical practice, HRV data is collected at the initial assessment, at progress assessments, and again after the completion of a course of neurofeedback combined with HRV biofeedback treatment. This paper describes HRV seen in healthy individuals compared to HRV in individuals known to have experienced a TBI. Three clinical case examples are discussed that explore the changes in heart rate variability following traumatic brain injury as well as improvements noted during, and following, a course of neurofeedback combined with HRV biofeedback training. The cases illustrated in this paper demonstrate the impressive changes in heart rate variability that can occur following a traumatic brain injury and also highlight how neurofeedback combined with biofeedback training can be used to improve heart rate variability and ameliorate related cognitive symptoms.

Recovery of written language production in children with traumatic brain injury: outcomes at one year

Aphasiology ◽  
1999 ◽  
Vol 13 (9-11) ◽  
pp. 691-700 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kathryn M. Yorkston ◽  
Kenneth M. Jaffe ◽  
Shiquan Liao ◽  
Nayak L. Polissar
Keyword(s):  
Traumatic Brain Injury ◽  
Brain Injury ◽  
Language Production ◽  
Written Language ◽  
One Year ◽  
Injury Outcomes
Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document