Communication changes following acquired brain injury (ABI) may necessitate use of augmentative and alternative communication (AAC). Speech pathologists regularly assist people with ABI and their families with AAC assessment and recommendations, as well as education and training on AAC use. To date, there has been no Australian research investigating the perspectives of speech pathologists working in the field of ABI and AAC. This research aimed to 1) Explore speech pathologists’ insights regarding enablers and barriers to considerations and uptake, and ongoing use, of AAC by people with ABI and 2) Understand their perspectives on AAC acceptance, abandonment and rejection.

A qualitative research design, with semi-structured interviews, was used with seven speech pathologists working across three Australian states. Interviews were transcribed verbatim, and thematically analysed. To triangulate results, the lived experience reflections of one co-author, who has an ABI and uses AAC, were drawn on.

Seven themes were identified, relating to four of the five domains of the World Health Organization’s assistive technology model. These included that AAC should be person-centred, with consideration of both products and personnel required, and with effective policy aiding AAC trial, uptake and use.

This research has highlighted considerations for AAC use by people with ABI, from the perspective of speech pathologists and aided by lived experience reflections. Speech pathologists need to understand the breadth of products, and good practice service steps, to ensure successful AAC use and skill development. Listening to the perspectives of people with ABI is central to that understanding.

Assistive technology services and devices support the participation and inclusion of people living with disability. In Australia, the regulatory bodies, agencies and schemes that manage assistive technology provision are governed by national and / or state-based Acts and Legislation. This study examined the assistive technology sector from the perspective of the regulatory bodies, agencies and schemes.

Regulatory bodies, agencies and schemes that manage funding for assistive technology in Australia were identified by the research team. A website audit reviewed publicly available documents and information. Semi-structured interviews with representatives from the agencies and schemes were audio-recorded and transcribed verbatim.

The audit (n =17) found that the range and level of information publicly available was variable. The availability of assistive technology for driving and transport, design and building for access and safety, and mobility was most often promoted. The qualitative findings (n = 11) indicated variability and challenges within four themes: operationalising the legislation; internal assistive technology processes; reasonable and necessary; and risks in the assistive technology pathway.

Regulatory bodies, agencies and schemes are critical to the effectiveness of the sector. The findings identified opportunities for the organisations to review how internal processes are communicated publicly, and for the sector to address the perceived risks related to health professional availability, knowledge and skills, and limited accessibility to trial assistive technology. Subsequent studies explored the perspectives of the assistive technology advisors and suppliers and the recipients of assistive technology services and devices.

The present study sought to investigate the experience of individuals living with their partner with an acquired brain injury (ABI) during the first lock down period of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Semi-structured interviews were conducted with seven partners of individuals who had sustained a range of ABIs. Interviews were transcribed verbatim and thematic analysis was carried out by two of the researchers exploring the unique narratives.

ABI occurs within a relational framework, which means that it has repercussions not only for the individual but also the entire family system. COVID-19 prevented family systems (living separately) from coming together which negatively impacted them; however, it also slowed life down, with many people working from home with flexible arrangements in place which participants found to be beneficial. Three main themes emerged from the interview data: partner focus, slowing down and support networks. The narratives identified the struggles of having to continue their partner’s rehabilitation when face to face services could not visit the home, the importance of establishing routine, the positives of a slower paced life (due to COVID-19) that enabled them to build stronger relationships with their partners, and the difficulties of being separated from family and loved ones.

This research suggests that it is imperative to consider individual experiences and choices. Some families benefited from reduced treatment and a slowed pace of life, whilst others may find this overwhelming and burdensome. The study makes recommendations for supporting couples after an ABI during the ongoing pandemic.

Peer-support groups for stroke survivors are often organized and facilitated by health authorities and disability related organizations within rehabilitation programs. However, the benefits of peer-led, peer-support groups have not yet been evaluated. The purpose of this study was to explore participants’ experiences in a community-based, peer-led, peer-support group for stroke survivors.

Semi-structured interviews were conducted and analyzed following constructivist grounded theory with 11 participants who attended a peer-led, peer-support group for people with stroke. The data were also complemented with one quantitative rating question regarding their experience attending the group.

Three themes were identified. Meeting unmet needs after stroke captured how the group was created by stroke survivors to address life in the community post-stroke. Buddies helping buddies highlighted that stroke recovery is a shared process at the group, where members help and encourage each other to contribute what they can. Creating authentic friendships revealed how people experienced social connection and developed relationships in the peer-led, peer-support group.

Peer-led, peer-support groups may provide opportunities for stroke survivors to connect with like-minded people in their community to have fun while exploring their abilities.

To examine Nigerian footballers’ knowledge and attitudes towards sport-related concussion (SRC) and associated contextual factors.

A cross-sectional study design was used with an online questionnaire distributed to Nigerian footballers affiliated with a registered team. The questionnaire included demographic information and the Rosenbaum Concussion Knowledge and Attitudes Survey (RoCKAS-ST). The concussion knowledge index (CKI, 0–25) and attitude index (CAI, 15–75) were calculated. The association between various contextual factors with “high” knowledge and attitude were determined.

A total of 331 participants completed the questionnaire from 10 football clubs. Mean CKI and CAI scores were 14.0 ± 3.0 (56.2 ± 13.2%) and 54.5 ± 9.4 (72.6 ± 12.5%), respectively, and the association between scores was considered large (r = 0.530; 28%). A small proportion (n = 25; 7.6%) of participants reported a previous diagnosis of an SRC, with a further 40 (12.1%) suspecting they have suffered SRC. Thirty-five participants (10.6%) reported sustaining a SRC but did not seek medical help. Results indicated that men were at 4.8 times greater odds of having a “high[er]” CKI than women, and that those with 5–10 years playing experience had lower odds of a “high” CKI than those with >10 years’ experience. Men had 7 times greater odds of having a “high” CAI than women.

The results of this study suggest that Nigerian footballers have a moderate level of SRC knowledge, satisfactory symptom recognition, and high SRC attitudes. Those working with Nigerian football may consider these findings when seeking strategies to improve concussion knowledge, potentially by improving attitudes and considering sex and playing experience.

This study explored non-specialist audiological clinical practice in the context of traumatic brain injury (TBI), and whether such practices incorporated considerations of TBI-related complexities pertaining to identification, diagnosis and management of associated auditory and vestibular disturbances.

A cross-sectional online survey exploring clinical practice, TBI-related training and information provision was distributed to audiologists across Australia via Audiology Australia and social media. Fifty audiologists, 80% female and 20% male, participated in this study. Years of professional practice ranged from new graduate to more than 20 years of experience.

Clear gaps of accuracy in knowledge and practice across all survey domains relating to the identification, diagnosis and management of patients with auditory and/or vestibular deficits following TBI were evident. Further, of the surveyed audiologists working in auditory and vestibular settings, 91% and 86%, respectively, reported not receiving professional development for the diagnosis and management of post-traumatic audio-vestibular deficits.

Inadequate resources, equipment availability and TBI-related training may have contributed to the gaps in service provision, influencing audiological management of patients with TBI. A tailored TBI approach to identification, diagnosis and management of post-traumatic auditory and vestibular disturbances is needed.

Individuals living in residential aged care facilities with cognitive decline are at risk of social isolation and decreased wellbeing. These risks may be exacerbated by decline in communication skills. There is growing awareness that group singing may improve sense of wellbeing for individuals with dementia. However, to date few studies have examined broader rehabilitative effects on skills such as communication of individuals with dementia.

To determine the feasibility and acceptability of the MuSic to Connect (MuSiCON) choir and language/communication assessment protocol in people with cognitive impairment living in non-high-care wards of a residential facility.

Six individuals with mild-moderate cognitive impairment participated (age range 55–91 years, five female, one male). A mixed method approach was used. Quantitative outcomes included attendance rates, quality of life and communication measures. The qualitative measure was a brief survey of experience completed by participants and carers post-intervention.

Overall, MuSiCON was perceived as positive and beneficial, with high attendance, perception of improved daily functioning and high therapeutic benefit without harmful effects. While there was no reliable change in communication skills over the course of the six-week intervention, most participants successfully engaged in the conversational task, suggesting it is a suitable and ecologically valid method for data collection

The MuSiCON protocol demonstrated feasibility and was well received by participants and staff at the residential facility. A co-design approach is recommended to improve upon feasibility, acceptability and validity of the assessment protocol prior to Phase II testing.

Discourse analysis is one of the clinical methods commonly used to assess the language ability of individuals with traumatic brain injury (TBI). However, the majority of published analytic frameworks are not geared for highlighting the pragmatic aspect of discourse deficits in acquired language disorders, except for those designed for quantifying conversational samples. This study aimed to examine how pragmatic competence is impaired and reflected in spoken monologues in Chinese speakers with TBI.

Discourse samples of five tasks (personal narrative, storytelling, procedural, single- and sequential picture description) were elicited from ten TBI survivors and their controls. Each discourse sample was measured using 16 indices (e.g., number of informative words, percentage of local/global coherence errors, repeated words or phrases) that corresponded to the four Gricean maxims. Twenty-five naïve Chinese speakers were also recruited to perform perceptual rating of the quality of all 50 TBI audio files (five discourse samples per TBI participant), in terms of erroneous/inaccurate information, adequacy of amount of information given, as well as degree of organization and clarity.

The maxim of quantity best predicted TBI’s pragmatic impairments. Naïve listeners’ perception of pragmatics deficits correlated to measures on total and informative words, as well as number and length of terminable units. Clinically, personal narrative and storytelling tasks could better elicit violations in pragmatics.

Applying Gricean maxims in monologic oral narratives could capture the hallmark underlying pragmatic problems in TBI. This may help provide an additional approach of clinically assessing social communications in and subsequent management of TBI.

Innovative shoe insoles, designed to enhance sensory information on the plantar surface of the feet, could help to improve walking in people with Multiple Sclerosis.

To compare the effects of wearing textured versus smooth insoles, on measures of gait, foot sensation and patient-reported outcomes, in people with Multiple Sclerosis.

A prospective, randomised controlled trial was conducted with concealed allocation, assessor blinding and intention-to-treat analysis. Thirty ambulant men and women with multiple sclerosis (MS) (Disease Steps rating 1–4) were randomly allocated to wear textured or smooth insoles for 12 weeks. Self-reported insole wear and falls diaries were completed over the intervention period. Laboratory assessments of spatiotemporal gait patterns, foot sensation and proprioception, and patient-reported outcomes, were performed at Weeks 0 (Baseline 1), 4 (Baseline 2) and 16 (Post-Intervention). The primary outcome was the size of the mediolateral base of support (stride/step width) when walking over even and uneven surfaces. Independent t-tests were performed on change from baseline (average of baseline measures) to post-intervention.

There were no differences in stride width between groups, when walking over the even or uneven surfaces (P ≥ 0.20) at post-intervention. There were no between-group differences for any secondary outcomes including gait (all P values > 0.23), foot sensory function (all P values ≥ 0.08) and patient-reported outcomes (all P values ≥ 0.23).

In our small trial, prolonged wear of textured insoles did not appear to alter walking or foot sensation in people with MS who have limited foot sensory loss. Further investigation is needed to explore optimal insole design.

Australian and New Zealand Clinical Trials Registry (ACTRN12615000421538).

To examine associations between post-stroke participation and personal factors, including demographic characteristics, self- and threat appraisals, and personality variables.

An exploratory cross-sectional study with purpose-designed survey was completed online or via mail. The survey was comprised of demographic and health-related questions and multiple questionnaires, including the Stroke Impact Scale Version 3.0 (SISv3) (participation/perceived recovery), Community Integration Questionnaire (CIQ) (participation), Head Injury Semantic Differential III (pre- vs post-stroke self-concept/self-discrepancy), Appraisal of Threat and Avoidance Questionnaire (threat appraisal), Life Orientation Test – Revised (optimism) and Relationships Questionnaire (adult attachment style) that measured variables of interest. Sixty-two participants, aged 24–96 years who had experienced a stroke (one or multiple events) and had returned to community living, completed the survey. Associations were examined using correlations, and univariate and multiple linear regression analyses.

Regression analysis showed that greater participation, measured using the CIQ, was associated with younger age, female gender, lower self-discrepancy and higher perceived recovery, explaining 69% of the variability in CIQ participation. Further, greater participation on the SISv3 was associated with lower self-discrepancy and higher perceived recovery, explaining 64% of the variability in SISv3 participation.

Results indicate that personal factors, particularly self-appraisals like self-concept/self-discrepancy, in combination with perceived recovery may be important in explaining a large portion of variance in post-stroke participation. Specifically, findings highlight the interrelatedness of self-concept change, perceived recovery and post-stroke participation. Further longitudinal research is needed to clarify the directionality of these associations throughout the hospital-to-home transition.

To explore how vocational rehabilitation (VR) is currently delivered for individuals with acquired brain injury (ABI) across multiple stakeholder groups and identify areas for improvement in service delivery using the Consolidated Framework for Implementation Research (CFIR).

Seven focus groups were conducted with rehabilitation clinicians; outreach providers, insurers/regulators, VR providers and disability employment service providers (n = 44) experienced in VR of individuals with ABI. All groups were audio-recorded and transcribed verbatim. Data analysis was guided by the CFIR constructs.

All stakeholder groups believed they offered quality VR interventions given available resources and legislation, but many clients fell through the ‘cracks’. Themes that were identified included: a) number and complexity of systems supporting VR; b) fractured communication across systems, c) lack of knowledge by both stakeholders and clients in navigating systems, d) lack of expertise in supporting the vocational needs of clients with ABI and e) perceived limited awareness of ABI by employers.

Stakeholders and clients need support to navigate Australia’s complex VR pathways. Limited specialist ABI clinicians, VR providers and disability employment services were identified as barriers for effective VR. Domains of the CFIR were appropriate for organising and understanding how VR is delivered.

The objective of this review is to examine the evidence for the interdisciplinary approach in treatment of persistent post-concussion symptoms in adults.

This systematic literature search was undertaken according to the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic and Meta-Analysis (PRISMA) guidelines. Five electronic databases were searched: CINAHL, Informit, ProQuest, PubMed and Scopus. After screening and quality assessment, the review included six studies published in English and peer-reviewed journals, between 2011 and 2021 to return contemporary evidence.

The results revealed that there was significant variation between measures used and the timing of the pre- and post-treatment assessment. The studies found an interdisciplinary approach to be beneficial, however, the challenges of inherent heterogeneity, lack of clarity for definitions and diagnosis, and mixed results were apparent. The interdisciplinary interventions applied in all identified studies were found to reduce post-concussion symptoms across the symptom subtypes: headache/migraine, vestibular, cognitive, ocular motor and anxiety/mood.

The results demonstrated evidence for a reduction in persistent post-concussion symptoms following interdisciplinary intervention. This evidence will inform health services, clinicians, sports administrators and researchers with regard to concussion clinic and rehabilitation team design and service delivery.

The purpose of this study was to compare the self- and observer ratings of capacity limitations in patients with neurological conditions. Research on this topic is relevant for assessing the patients’ ability to participate in work and social life and improving collaborative patient-clinician relationships.

The self- and observer ratings of capacity limitations in a sample of N = 245 patients with neurological conditions from a rehabilitation facility were compared and assessed using the short rating of activity limitations and participation restrictions in mental disorders according to the International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health (Mini-ICF-APP) and the equivalent self-rating questionnaire (Mini-ICF-APP-S).

Paired-samples t-tests revealed significant differences between the self- and observer ratings for six out of 13 capacity dimensions. On average, the patients rated the capacity dimensions adherence to regulations, planning and structuring of tasks, professional competency and endurance as significantly less limited, in comparison to the observers (small to medium effect sizes). The self-ratings for limitation of contact with others and self-care were only marginally higher than the observer ratings.

The findings show that psychological capacity limitations occur in patients with neurological conditions. In clinical practice, limitations in each capacity dimension and discrepancies in patient- and clinician-ratings should be thoroughly assessed. This is especially relevant in patients with neurological conditions who have a potential tendency to underestimate or deny their disability.

Cognitive impairment is common post-stroke. There is a need to understand patterns of early cognitive recovery post-stroke to guide both clinical and research practice. The aim of the study was to map the trajectory of cognitive recovery during the first week to 90-days post-stroke using serial computerised assessment.

An observational cohort study recruited consecutive stroke patients admitted to a stroke unit within 48 hours of onset. Cognitive function was assessed using the computerised Cambridge Neuropsychological Test Automated Battery (CANTAB) daily for seven days, then 14, 30 and 90 days post-stroke. The CANTAB measured visual episodic memory and learning, information processing speed, visuo-spatial working memory, complex sustained attention and mental flexibility. Repeated measures MANOVA/ANOVA with Least Squares Difference post-hoc analyses were performed to ascertain significant change over time.

Forty-eight participants, mean age 73, primarily mild, ischaemic stroke, completed all assessment timepoints. There was a trajectory of early, global cognitive improvement, indicative of a post-stroke delirium, that largely stabilised between 6 and 14-days post-stroke. Change over time was examined within each cognitive test, with one measure stabilising by day 6 (Reaction Time) and others detecting improving performances up to 14 days post-stroke.

Serial, computerised cognitive assessment can effectively map post-stroke cognitive recovery and revealed an early phase of global improvement over 14 days that is evidence for an acute post-stroke delirium. Resolution of post-stroke delirium in the second week following mild stroke indicates more extensive neuropsychological testing may be undertaken earlier than previously thought.

The National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) offers opportunity against a historical background of underfunded and fragmented services for people with disability. For people with acquired brain injury (ABI), concerns have been raised about how they access NDIS individualised funded supports. The aim of this research was to explore how community-dwelling individuals with ABI in Queensland navigate the NDIS participant pathway to individualised funded supports.

This study used a multiple case study design within a policy implementation framework. Twelve people with ABI, nine family members and eight NDIS funded and mainstream service providers participated. Data was collected from relevant NDIS documentation, health records and semi-structured interviews with individuals with ABI, family members, and service providers.

The current study highlighted the complexity of navigating the NDIS participant pathway of access, planning, implementation and review for people with ABI, their family and service providers. The NDIS pathway was impacted by the insurance and market based NDIS model itself, time, communication, and the requirement for external supports. Equally, the process was affected by environmental factors, individual person and injury factors as well as service providers, with a range of outcomes evident at the individual, family and system level.

Findings suggest that the NDIS has struggled to make specific allowance for people with ABI and the complexity of their disabilities. Providing people with ABI access to the NDIS Complex Support Needs Pathway may redress many of the difficulties people with ABI experience accessing and using NDIS funded supports.