HIGH-LEVEL LINGUISTIC DISTURBANCES SUBSEQUENT TO CHILDHOOD CLOSED-HEAD INJURY

High-level language functioning was assessed in a group of 11 children with severe closed head injury (CHI). Performance was examined on mea sures of figurative language, oral expression, inferencing, and interp retation of ambiguous sentences, and was compared with that of a contr ol group matched for age, gender, and handedness. The children with CH I demonstrated inferior performance on the oral expression, ambiguous sentences, and figurative language tests; however, performance on the inferencing task appeared intact. These findings are discussed with re spect to the underlying nature of the observed impairments. Both lingu istic and cognitive factors are considered. It is concluded that a com plex interaction of cognitive and linguistic impairments experienced b y children with CHI may underlie the performance deficits identified i n the current study.