Domains of a TBI minimal data set: community reintegration phase.

Efforts to establish a minimal data set for the period of community integration after traumatic brain injury (TBI) have been the focus of a working group of leading researchers, clinicians and advocates attending the Galveston Brain Injury Symposium in 2001 and 2002. The purpose of the data set is to increase the consistency and interpretability of TBI research and programme evaluation by providing a common set of measures to document key aspects of community integration. It is intended to be sensitive to intervention, comprehensive, reflect satisfaction and outcome and promote future treatment/therapy. In deciding on the components of a minimal data set, the tri-partite model of outcomes was adopted (initially employed in psychotherapy, adapted to TBI) which focuses on the needs of the individual, society and the health provider. Scales are recommended for the respective components of the model.

Social information processing in adolescents: data from normally developing adolescents and preliminary data from their peers with traumatic brain injury.

OBJECTIVE: To assess aspects of social information processing in naturalistic conversations, using online videotape tasks. DESIGN AND PARTICIPANTS: The tasks were administered to 60 normally developing (ND) subjects ages 13 to 21, and 10 adolescents with traumatic brain injury (TBI). SETTING: University. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE: Task accuracy scores and measures of reliability and validity. RESULTS AND CONCLUSIONS: ND group scores were generally high, without significant differences by race, sex or age. TBI group scores were significantly lower than ND group scores for both emotion recognition and detection of conversation skills. The results are discussed in light of the evaluation of pragmatic competence in adolescents with TBI.

Traumatic Brain Injury Collaborative Planning Group: a protocol for community intervention.

OBJECTIVE: The Traumatic Brain Injury Collaborative Planning Group was formed in December 1992 to address service gaps and better use agencies and their programs to meet the specialized needs of individuals with traumatic brain injury (TBI). SETTING: The group meetings served as the interagency link between service providers for comprehensive planning and problem solving. OUTCOME MEASURES: This article focuses on the three main tasks of this group: (1) interagency case planning among participating agencies; (2) provision of training and networking opportunities for service providers working with this population; (3) development of creative funding mechanisms for community education and support services to assist individuals to live and work in the community. METHODS: The methods used to organize the collaborative, direct it toward the three main tasks, and maintain it without any agency funding are outlined. RESULTS: Data collected about the 21 persons served in the past 3 years is provided, and protocol forms are shared. CONCLUSION: This model of collaboration throughout a countywide area has been used as a basis for similar development in several other states.

Educating students with TBI: themes and recommendations.

Ten educational consultants and researchers, each with extensive experience working with children with traumatic brain injury (TBI) in school settings, identified seven themes related to serving this population in public schools. These themes are discussed under the headings (1) incidence of TBI and prevalence of persistent educational disability, (2) diversity and central tendencies within the population, (3) assessment, (4) intervention and support in school settings, (5) training and support for educators, (6) intervention and support for families, and (7) systems change and flexibility. For each theme, a set of recommendations is provided, forming an educational research and policy agenda for pediatric TBI.

A proactive model for treating communication disorders in children and adolescents with traumatic brain injury.

This proactive approach to assessment and intervention focuses both on looking ahead to determine problems the student with TBI is likely to encounter as a result of cognitive-communicative impairments, and on developing solutions to those problems. Intervention places the family and other important people in the student's life at the center of the treatment process. Family members, teachers, peers, and coworkers can be incorporated into the intervention program. Strategies and techniques can be implemented within the home, school, community, and work setting. To do so, professionals must be committed to working closely with others to develop collaborative relationships.