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Closed-head-injured children's performance on narrative tasks.
F M Jordan1, B E Murdoch, D L Buttsworth
1Department of Speech and Hearing, University of Queensland, Australia.
Journal of Speech and Hearing Research
|June 1, 1991
Summary
Children with closed-head injury (CHI) showed no differences in narrative abilities compared to healthy peers. Story grammar and cohesion were similar in both groups, suggesting no lasting impact on these specific language skills.
Area of Science:
- Pediatric Neurology
- Developmental Psychology
- Linguistics
Background:
- Closed-head injury (CHI) can impact cognitive and linguistic functions in children.
- Narrative abilities, including story grammar and cohesion, are crucial for communication and social interaction.
- Understanding the long-term effects of CHI on language development is essential.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the narrative abilities of children with closed-head injury.
- To compare story grammar and intersentential cohesion in head-injured children versus controls.
- To determine if CHI affects specific measures of narrative competence.
Main Methods:
- Elicited stories from 20 children with closed-head injury.
- Collected stories from a matched control group of non-neurologically impaired children.
- Analyzed narratives for story grammar and intersentential cohesion.
Main Results:
- No significant differences were observed in story grammar between the CHI group and the control group.
- Intersentential cohesion measures did not differ significantly between the two groups.
- Overall narrative ability, as measured, was comparable in both cohorts.
Conclusions:
- Closed-head injury in children did not appear to impair specific narrative abilities like story grammar and cohesion in this study.
- These findings suggest that certain linguistic functions may be resilient to CHI.
- Further research could explore other aspects of language or different injury severities.