Cognitive and linguistic correlates of children's discourse after closed bead injury: A three-year follow-up

The discourse of 91 children who had sustained severe (n = 68) or mild (n = 23) closed head injury (CHI) was examined at least three years postinjury. The groups' retellings of a narrative story were analyzed according to two domains, information and language. In comparison to the mild CHI group, th e severe group produced stories characterized by reduced content and inform ation, impaired organization, fewer words, and less complex sentences. The relationships between discourse production and the groups' performance on m easures of language, executive function, memory, and processing speed were examined. Correlations were found between discourse production and general verbal ability including verbal fluency. Correlations were also found for d iscourse performance and executive function measures associated with proble m solving and working memory. Site and extent of lesion were not useful in predicting discourse production. These findings indicate that children who sustain a severe closed head injury during early to middle childhood are at risk for persisting deficits in discourse processing and other cognitive a bilities.