1. Stephanie Fanale Brenda Wilson, Ph.D, CCC-SLP Eastern Illinois University Research supported by an undergraduate research grant at Eastern Illinois University

2.  Traumatic brain injury (TBI) affects the lives of approximately 1.7 million Americans each year (Faul, Xu, Wald, & Coronado, 2010)  Patients with TBI often present with symptoms of impaired awareness in regard to their injuries as well as the impact of their injuries on their daily functioning (Sherer, Bergloff, Boake, High, & Levin, 1998)  Due to the individualized nature of awareness, developing a general, yet adequate assessment tool of awareness has proven difficult  There is limited information available about the validity of most assessments, as well as the rehabilitation implications of awareness of deficits in people with TBI

3.  Roberts et al. (2006) found that individuals who received a one-on-one neurological consultation increased their levels of self-awareness  Proctor, Wilson, Sanchez, and Wesley (2000) found a direct relationship between having the skills required to complete functional tasks successfully and the ability to set realistic goals  Proctor et al. (2000) also found a direct relationship between having the skills required to complete functional tasks successfully and the awareness required to self-monitor behavior

4.  The purpose of this study was to determine the relationship between two awareness measures and a functional measure of communication.

5.  What is the relationship between awareness of deficit scores and functional communication outcome scores after TBI?  Does severity of the brain injury impact the relationship between awareness of deficit scores and functional outcome scores after TBI?  What are speech-language pathologists’ clinical preferences in regard to awareness assessments?

6. Subject #SexAge of Injury Age at Testing Description of Injury 1Male17:418:0Left temporoparietal laceration, intraparenchymal hemorrhage, depressed skull fracture, Loss of consciousness 2Male17:10 Intraventricular hemorrhage/ lateral ventricles, small hemorrhages, anterior corpus callosum and cerebellum 3Female15:0 Subdural hematoma, right parietal subarachnoid hematoma, Loss of consciousness Mean age of injury = 16;9 SD = 1.51 Mean age of testing = 16;11 SD = 1.69

7.  2 awareness assessments were given: Awareness Questionnaire Functional Assessment of Verbal and Executive Strategies (FAVRES)

8.  Composed of three forms: a patient form, a significant other form, and a clinician form  On each form, the abilities of the person with TBI to perform various tasks after the injury as compared to before the injury are rated on a five point scale ranging from "much worse" to "much better”  Awareness of deficits is determined by subtracting the significant other’s score and the clinician score from the self-rating of the participant, resulting in a discrepancy score

9.  A standardized test designed to measure the use of executive strategies to complete tasks specifically for those individuals 18 or older with acquired brain injuries.  Consists of four tasks made to replicate everyday cognitive demands. The current study measured awareness of deficits using the rationale score for two tasks: Task One: “Planning an Event”—requires the participant to analyze several options presented in a newspaper listing and choose which event was most appropriate within the constraints of time, money, and appropriateness. Task Two: “Scheduling”—requires the participant to analyze a “things to do” list and various telephone messages in order to organize and prioritize activities based on importance and time.

10. EXPRESSIONSOCIAL INTERACTION No Helper  7: Complete Independence  6: Modified Independence Helper  5: Standby Prompting  4: Minimal Prompting  3: Moderate Prompting  2: Maximal Prompting  1: Total Assistance No Helper  7: Complete Independence  6: Modified Independence Helper  5: Supervision  4: Minimal Direction  3: Moderate Direction  2: Maximal Direction  1: Total Assistance

11.  There was a tendency for increased awareness of deficit, as measured by the AQ discrepancy scores, to be associated with a lower communication outcomes, as measured by the FIM.  Participant 1: FIM score: 6 out of 14 Lowest AQ discrepancy score: 5

12. FIMAQ Mean8-12 Standard Deviation1.73-8.89 Minimum Value6-5 Maximum Value9-22

14.  There was a tendency for increase awareness of deficits, as measured by the FAVRES rationale score, to be associated with a higher communication outcome, as measured by the FIM.  Participant 1: FIM score: 6 out of 14 FAVRES rationale score: 4

15. FIMFAVRES rationale Mean85.67 Standard Deviation1.732.89 Minimum Value64 Maximum Value99

17.  Physical limitations were included on the AQ  Participant 1 was injured last summer. Other participants were tested directly after discharge.

18.  FIM ratings were used to measure severity of injury, with lower ratings indicating increased severity  Participant 1: Lowest FIM score—indicating greatest severity Lowest AQ discrepancy score—indicating highest awareness Lowest FAVRES rationale score—indicating lowest awareness

21. AreaAQFAVRES Ease of Administration 55 Time Efficiency 53 Accuracy of Assessing Awareness 52 Based on the clinical preferences rating of the clinician, the AQ was ranked the better than the FAVRES for time efficiency and for accuracy. Both assessments were given the highest ratings for ease of administration.

22.  The AQ was the most accurate assessment of awareness of deficit.  Awareness of deficit as measured by the AQ does not show a strong relationship with the FIM expression and social interaction scales.

23.  The rationale score of the FAVRES was not an accurate assessment of awareness of deficit  The rationale score of the FAVRES was moderately related to communication outcome as measured by the FIM  In this small sample, increased severity as measured by the FIM was not associated with increased awareness of deficit. However, it was associated with the FAVRES rationale score.

24.  Increased sample size will increase validity of results.  Since awareness of deficit is an important factor in rehabilitation after TBI, various measures of awareness should be evaluation in terms of rehabilitation outcome.

25.  Faul, M., Xu, L., Wald, M. M., & Coronado, V. G. (2010, March 17). Traumatic Brain Injuries in the United States. Retrieved from http://www.cdc.gov/TraumaticBrainInjury/statistics.html  Proctor, A., Wilson, B., Sanchez, C., and Wesley, E. (2000). Executive function and verbal working memory in adolescents with closed head injury (CHI). Brain Injury, 14(7), 633-647. doi:10.1080/02699050050043999  Roberts, C. B., Rafal, R., & Coetzer, B. R. (2006). Feedback of brain-imaging findings: Efects on impaired awareness and mood in acquired brain injury. Brain Injury, 20(5), 485-497. doi: 10.1080/02699050600664665  Sherer, M., Bergloff, P., Boake, C., High, W., & Levin, E. (1998). The Awareness Questionnaire: Factor structure and internal consistency. Brain Injury, 12(1), 63-68. doi: 10.1080/026990598122863