title: Language function in a child following mild traumatic brain injury: Evidence from pre- and post-injury language testing.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Pre- and post-injury language performance scores following mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI) were investigated through a replication and subsequent extension of a previous case study where a trend for declining language scores was described based on pre- and post-injury data.
  
  
  METHODS
  Test norms were used to descriptively analyze pre- and post-morbid language performance and performance score changes. Score changes were subsequently statistically analyzed using data obtained from a group of age-matched non-brain-injured control children.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Descriptive analysis identified a trend for declining skill on general and high-level language skills. Statistical analysis failed to differentiate the mTBI case from the control group on language score changes.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  While supporting the earlier identified trends in language decline following mTBI, subsequent statistical analysis undertaken to extend the earlier findings failed to detect statistically significant changes in language outcomes following mild injury. The need for monitoring of yet-to-emerge higher-level adolescent language skills, however, is highlighted.
authors.affiliation: Centre for Neurogenic Communication Disorders Research, School of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences, University of Queensland, Brisbane, Australia. f.lewis@uq.edu.au
authors.forename: Fiona M
authors.initials: FM
authors.lastname: Lewis
authors.forename: Bruce E
authors.initials: BE
authors.lastname: Murdoch
mesh_terms: D001930:Brain Injuries / Q000150:complications*; D002648:Child; D006801:Humans; D007802:Language; D007806:Language Disorders / Q000209:etiology*; D007807:Language Tests; D008297:Male