Functional communication screening in individuals with traumatic brain injury

Area of Science:

• Neurology
• Speech-Language Pathology
• Rehabilitation Medicine

Background:

• Traumatic brain injury (TBI) frequently results in cognitive-communication deficits.
• Accurate assessment of functional communication is crucial for successful community re-entry.
• Existing assessment tools may not fully capture the nuances of TBI-related communication impairments.

Purpose of the Study:

• To determine the feasibility and psychometric properties of the Functional Communication Scale (FCS).
• To evaluate the FCS's ability to measure functional communication in adults with moderate-to-mild TBI-related deficits.
• To assess the reliability and validity of the FCS in a clinical population.

Main Methods:

• A group design involving 30 adults with diagnosed moderate-to-mild cognitive-communication deficits secondary to TBI.
• Videotaped conversational samples were elicited and rated using 13 items of the FCS by three experienced raters.
• Inter- and intra-rater reliability were assessed, alongside relationships between cognitive-communication severity and FCS scores.

Main Results:

• Significant positive correlations were found between cognitive-communication severity and total FCS scores.
• High inter- and intra-rater reliability scores were achieved by the three raters.
• The FCS effectively differentiated individuals with and without concurrent aphasia or dysarthria.

Conclusions:

• The Functional Communication Scale (FCS) is a feasible and reliable instrument for assessing functional communication in individuals with TBI.
• The FCS demonstrates sensitivity to varying levels of communication impairment and co-occurring conditions like aphasia and dysarthria.
• These findings support the use of the FCS in evaluating TBI patients undergoing rehabilitation and preparing for community re-entry.