ASSESSMENT OF PRAGMATIC COMMUNICATION-SKILLS IN ADOLESCENTS AFTER TRAUMATIC BRAIN INJURY

Deficits in pragmatic communication ability have a significant impact on functional outcome from traumatic brain injury (TBI), particularly during adolescence, when sophisticated social communication skills are developing. There are few published tests designed to assess pragmati c skills in this age group. In the present study, four tasks designed to tap various aspects of pragmatic communication ability were adminis tered to three brain-injured adolescents and 36 of their uninjured pee rs aged 15-18 years. The tasks evaluated the ability to negotiate, hin t, describe a simple procedure, and understand sarcasm. The four tasks were found to tap distinct aspects of pragmatic ability in control su bjects. Further, within the control group, task performance was relate d more to non-verbal reasoning ability than vocabulary skills. Scores for two of the three TBI subjects were poorer than chose of their peer s, while a third mildly injured subject performed within normal limits . Pragmatic task scores were consistent with the results of neuropsych ological testing in the three TBI subjects. Implications for clinical management and recommendations for future research are discussed.