Functional communication screening in individuals with traumatic brain injury

The feasibility of a novel instrument, the Functional Communication Scale (FCS), was determined for individuals with moderate-to-mild cognitive-communication deficits secondary to traumatic brain injury (TBI). A group design including 30 adults with confirmed diagnosis and communication problems was utilized. Conversational samples with each participant were videotaped and rated for 13 FCS items. Three raters with diverse clinical experiences rated the elicited samples. Results identified significant and positive relationships between the cognitive-communication severities and the total FCS scores. Significant inter- and intra-rater reliability scores were found for the three raters. The FCS also determined significant differences between individuals with and without concurrent aphasia or dysarthria. No obvious differences were found between males and females nor between individuals with the primary diagnosis of TBI vs other neurological aetiologies. These findings have implications for assessing the adequacy of functional communication of individuals who are candidates for community re-entry.