ASHA Learning Pass

Impaired discourse production is commonly reported for individuals with traumatic brain injury (TBI). Discourse deficits can negatively impact community integration, return to employment, and quality of life. COVID-19 restrictions have reduced in-person assessment services for people with communication impairments. Advances in telehealth may help SLPs to assess discourse more systematically and improve access to services for patients who may find it difficult to attend in-person.

This session discusses a study that examined the feasibility of telehealth administration of narrative and procedural discourse tasks to individuals with TBI and matched controls. Results support the feasibility of collecting discourse samples via telehealth. Although the participants’ discourse performance distinguished the TBI and control groups on the narrative task, no differences between the groups were noted for the procedural task.

This course is a recorded session from the 2022 ASHA Convention Virtual Library (session 5564V).

Related Courses

See more sessions from the 2022 ASHA Convention.

Learning Outcomes
You will be able to:

• Design a telehealth protocol for discourse assessment
• Discuss the benefits of collaborations internationally or within the U.S.
• Reproduce a similar analysis/study of discourse tasks for individuals via telehealth

Presenter Information

Nicole Cruse, PhD (presenting author) is an assistant professor at Sacred Heart University. Her research is focused on language and executive dysfunction in individuals with TBI. She is also interested in virtual gaming as an assessment and rehabilitation tool for SLPs, aphasia, and cognitive rehabilitation.

Financial Disclosures:

• Graduate student dissertation funding grant from University of Connecticut

Nonfinancial Disclosures:

• None

Nicholas Behn (nonpresenting author) is a speech and language therapist who graduated from The University of Sydney, Australia, in 1999. He worked as a speech and language therapist both in Australia and the UK, with a keen interest in working with people with neurological conditions, particularly traumatic brain injury (TBI). His research is focused on the assessment and management of people with cognitive-communication impairments after brain injury.

Financial Disclosures:

• Employed by City, University of London as a lecturer 

Nonfinancial Disclosures:

• None

Carl Coelho, PhD, BC-ANCDS (nonpresenting author) is Professor Emeritus and former Department Head of the Speech, Language, and Hearing Sciences Department at the University of Connecticut. Prior to beginning his academic career, he worked as a clinician and department director of speech-language pathology and audiology in rehabilitation hospitals. His research on cognitive communication disorders has been has been published in numerus journal articles and chapters. Dr Coelho is an ASHA Fellow.

Financial Disclosures:

• None

Nonfinancial Disclosures:

• None

Victor Piotto (nonpresenting author) is an acute medical speech-language pathologist in London, UK, with a special interest in discourse production and communication in people after TBI.

Financial Disclosures:

• None

Nonfinancial Disclosures:

• None

Assessment Type

Self-assessment—Think about what you learned and report on the Completion Form how you will use your new knowledge.

To earn continuing education credit, you must complete the learning assessment by the end date below. 

Program History and CE Information

Content origination date: November 2022
End date: February 1, 2029

This course is offered for 0.05 ASHA CEUs (Introductory level, Related area).