title: Expressive writing in people with traumatic brain injury and learning disability.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  There is a dearth of systematic studies of expressive writing disorder (EWD) in persons with Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI). It is unclear if TBI survivors' written expression differs significantly from that experienced by persons with learning disabilities. It is also unclear which cognitive or neuropsychological variables predict problems with expressive writing (EW) or the EWD.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  This study investigated the EW skill, and the EWD in adults with mild traumatic brain injuries (TBI) relative to those with learning disabilities (LD). It also determined which of several cognitive variables predicted EW and EWD.
  
  
  METHODS
  Principle Component Analysis (PCA) of writing samples from 28 LD participants and 28 TBI survivors revealed four components of expressive writing skills: Reading Ease, Sentence Fluency, Grammar and Spelling, and Paragraph Fluency.
  
  
  RESULTS
  There were no significant differences between the LD and TBI groups on any of the expressive writing components. Several neuropsychological variables predicted skills of written expression. The best predictors included measures of spatial perception, verbal IQ, working memory, and visual memory.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  TBI survivors and persons with LD do not differ markedly in terms of expressive writing skill. Measures of spatial perception, visual memory, verbal intelligence, and working memory predict writing skill in both groups. Several therapeutic interventions are suggested that are specifically designed to improve deficits in expressive writing skills in individuals with TBI and LD.
authors.affiliation: Towson University, Towson, MD, USA.
authors.forename: Lisa
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Wheeler
authors.affiliation: Towson University, Towson, MD, USA.
authors.forename: Sherry
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Nickerson
authors.affiliation: Towson University, Towson, MD, USA.
authors.forename: Kayla
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Long
authors.affiliation: Syracuse University, Syracuse, NY, USA.
authors.forename: Rebecca
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Silver
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001930:Brain Injuries / Q000523:psychology*; D006801:Humans; D007859:Learning Disabilities / Q000523:psychology*; D008568:Memory; D009633:Nonverbal Communication / Q000523:psychology*; D025341:Principal Component Analysis; D014796:Visual Perception; D014956:Writing
keywords: TBI; Writing disorder; cognition; expressive writing skill