Background and Objectives:
Brain injuries affect the whole family. Reading with children is a common shared communication activity providing a natural ramp for interactive communication. This case reflection discusses strategy-based interventions for three clients with Cognitive Communication Disorder following Acquired Brain Injury, aimed at improving their abilities to share reading with their primary age children.
Method
We adopted a strategy training approach using prompts for priming, repetition, discussion and summarising. Individualised functional strategies were explored. For a third patient we supported access to story-sharing via development of a video. Clients self-rated ability to follow and understand stories when reading with their children.
Results
Following strategy-training and adoption, clients’ self-rating of their ability to follow a story improved on average (n=2) from 2/10 to 8/10. Client use of written prompts was dependent on attention switching and short term memory skills. Clients reported increased confidence and enjoyment in reading with their children, and feeling more positive about their parental role.
Conclusions
The inherent properties of family reading make it a natural means of enhancing interactive communication between parents with CCD and their children, when supported by functional strategies. Experiencing success improved clients’ confidence as parents, and increased children’s opportunities for positive communication experiences. Recommended changes to future practice are discussed. These include a children’s rating scale for reading pleasure and more detailed outcome measures. Exploring the more general therapeutic impact at the impairment level in terms of reading ability and social communication skills is considered.