Facial Affect Recognition Training Through Telepractice: Two Case Studies of Individuals with Chronic Traumatic Brain...

Area of Science:

• Neuroscience
• Psychology
• Speech-Language Pathology

Background:

• Traumatic brain injury (TBI) can significantly impair social communication skills, including emotion recognition.
• Chronic TBI, especially moderate to severe cases, presents persistent challenges in understanding facial affect.
• Existing interventions may not fully address the complex social communication deficits post-TBI.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the efficacy of a modified Facial Affect Recognition (FAR) training program for adults with chronic moderate to severe TBI.
• To assess the impact of telepractice-delivered FAR training on emotion identification and broader social communication skills.
• To explore the potential of targeted therapy in improving social cognition after long-term TBI.

Main Methods:

• Two case studies involving adults with chronic (>5 years) moderate to severe TBI.
• Modified FAR training delivered via telepractice, incorporating static facial expressions, emotional reflection, and social scenarios (stories, role-play).
• Pre- and post-therapy assessments included static facial photos for emotion identification and the Prutting and Kirchner Pragmatic Protocol for social communication.

Main Results:

• Both participants demonstrated measurable gains in identifying emotions from static facial photographs post-intervention.
• Improvements were observed in the ability to recognize and interpret facial affect after the modified FAR training.
• The telepractice delivery model proved feasible for implementing social communication interventions.

Conclusions:

• Modified FAR training, delivered via telepractice, shows promise for enhancing emotion recognition in adults with chronic TBI.
• Targeted interventions focusing on facial affect can lead to positive outcomes in social communication post-TBI.
• Further research with larger sample sizes is warranted to generalize these findings.