Effects of a New Social Communication Treatment for Adults Post-Brain Injury

What is it about?

We developed a treatment model for adults who experienced brain injury and then started to have long-lasting problems in conversations with others. The treatment is performed by a speech-language pathologist (SLP) in a series of treatment sessions with both the person with brain injury and one of their most frequent communication partners, such as a spouse or roommate. Together, the three of them work on identifying issues with communication, and try out strategies for improving those issues. Next, the SLP provides practice opportunities which are recorded and played back. After that, the SLP prompts each person to reflect on what went well and what still needs work. This study involved four adults with brain injury and their communication partners. Two of the people with brain injury wanted to work on interrupting their partners less, and the other two wanted to work on expressing themselves better. Results showed that all participants in the study found value in this approach. However, when the recorded conversations were rated later by an outside observer, only the two participants working on interruption showed clear and measurable improvement.

Featured Image

Photo by Harli Marten on Unsplash

Photo by Harli Marten on Unsplash

Why is it important?

Social communication difficulties commonly occur in adults after a brain injury, and SLPs often feel unprepared to treat them. This approach, called Collaborative Strategy Building with Audio Reflection (CISBAR), offers a specific framework for working on social communication issues that is flexible enough to address a variety of problems within the context they commonly occur, in conversations with a significant other who knows the person well.

Perspectives