Social Cognition Rehabilitation Advances for Researchers and Clinicians
CHAIR
DESCRIPTION
Social cognition: Current models and treatments: Leanne Togher will review the construct of social cognition including a conceptual biopsychosocial model with which to understand the social cognitive process. Social cognition treatments will also be reviewed with the conclusion they are efficacious, when programs are contextualised, collaborative and experiential. Searching for Synthesis in Social Communication Research and Application:“He doesn’t talk to our kids anymore” How do we bridge social communication research and clinical practice to improve the lives of individuals and their families? Sheila MacDonald will highlight challenges in applying social communication research including the need to analyze, synthesize, and routinize a growing amount of information from multiple fields. The Clinical Model of Cognitive Communication Competence will be presented as a way of integrating, applying, and unifying perspectives on social cognition and social communication for application to the lives of individuals with brain injuries. Assessing aspects of social cognition following traumatic brain injury: Barbra Zupan, Dawn Neumann, and Rebecca Eberle will review formal tools and informal methods for assessing aspects of social cognition (alexithymia and emotional awareness, attributions, emotional inferencing, emotion perception, empathy, social communication and pragmatics, theory of mind and conversational inference). Why Story Narratives Instead of Conversation? Carl Coelho. Stories are an essential aspect of everyday communication. Although conversation would appear to be more natural, the success of conversational interaction is dependent on the contributions of all participants. Effectiveness of such interactions is more a reflection of the skill of the non-brain-injured partner. It is argued that narratives yield a more accurate depiction of independent discourse production for individuals with TBI when compared to conversation. The relationship between cognitive-communication and psychosocial functioning 12 months after severe TBI: Sarah Tran will present findings regarding cognitive-communication and psychosocial functioning 12 months post TBI. Performance on FAVRES measures predicted change in overall psychosocial functioning, and Work and Leisure and Relationships domains, compared to pre-injury performance. This supports for the need of ecologically valid, activity and participation level assessments for individuals. Social communication as facilitated by group treatment: Louise Keegan will discuss her investigation of a newly developed group treatment approach for individuals with a TBI. This approach is novel because it occurs in naturalistic community-based social environments, promotes natural communication, is client-centered, and facilitates positive identity formation. Qualitative and quantitative results indicate a positive self-assessment of progress, as well as observed improvement in social communication skills.
LEARNING OBJECTIVES
- Describe frameworks and models which encompass the constructs of social cognition and social communication following traumatic brain injury.
- Describe social communication and social cognition assessment approaches for people with acquired brain injury.
- Describe treatment approaches designed to improve the social communication skills of people with severe traumatic brain injury, including group treatments.
