Disturbances of Communication in Persons with Traumatic Brain Injury

The present study was undertaken to examine the communicative problems faced by non-aphasic patients with traumatic brain injury (TBI), with particular attention to the com plex interactions between the psychological processes taking place in the minds of patients and the social transactions involved in the communicative act. Some theoretical background is provided. Five examples are given, illustrating how TBI patients exhibit pathologies of communication, even when their linguistic competence, as normally understood, seems to be largely intact. Qualitative methods of analysis are applied, including a simplified version of conversation analysis. Aphasia is not the only, or even the most important cause of communicative breakdowns in the lives of TBI patients. An interdisciplinary approach is needed to examine the nature of these complex problems and develop appropriate interventions.