The Effects of Visual Supports on Narrative Discourse in Adults Post Traumatic Brain Injury
Lauren Fragoso
Co-Presenters: Camryn Voehl
College: College of Health Professions and Human Services
Major: MA.SPEECH-LNGPATH
Faculty Research Mentor: Akers, Christa
Abstract:
Traumatic brain injuries (TBIs) frequently result in cognitive communication impairments impacting narrative discourse (e.g. language used beyond the sentence level). Narrative discourse deficits in TBI reflect impairments in organization, informativeness, and completeness of the conveyed information. Some research has demonstrated that narrative discourse performance is highly dependent on task type. For example, a feasibility study was conducted that found narrative production was more organized with picture support versus self-generated. Visual prompts may provide the scaffolding needed to improve discourse organization. This study will seek to examine narrative discourse performance across visually supported and unsupported tasks using main concepts of analysis (MCA). MCA is a discourse analysis measure that evaluates the degree to which speakers convey essential information in a story or sequence. Using MCA, this study will aim to further clarify whether picture supports improve organization during narrative discourse in patients with TBIs. This study will analyze picture supported versus unsupported narrative discourse in adult TBI patients. Analysis is currently underway and will be completed by the presentation date. Exploring these gaps in research will provide insight into the organization of narrative discourse in treatment for improved functional outcomes in TBI populations.Discourse, Main Concepts, TBI, Narrative