title: Communication disorders following closed head injury: new approaches to assessment and rehabilitation.
abstract: In this paper communication disorders following closed head injury are described and various forms of language assessment techniques are reviewed. The usefulness of conventional, pragmatic and cognitive approaches is considered. A new cognitive-pragmatic approach is then advocated which is an amalgam of the last two approaches. From the examples given it is argued that such an approach is practical in terms of: 1) incorporating knowledge of co-existing cognitive deficits; and 2) focusing on normal everyday communication practices. It is also suggested that the use of a cognitive-pragmatic framework has potential in refining remediation and management strategies with the closed-head-injured population.
authors.affiliation: Department of Neuropsychology, Lidcombe Hospital, New South Wales, Australia.
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: McDonald
mesh_terms: D001037:Aphasia / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000534:rehabilitation*; D001925:Brain Damage, Chronic / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000534:rehabilitation*; D016489:Head Injuries, Closed / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000534:rehabilitation*; D006801:Humans; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests; D011578:Psycholinguistics; D014705:Verbal Behavior