Bedömning av prosodisk förmåga hos vuxna med förvärvad hjärnskada.

Sammanfattning: Prosody is the melody and rhythm of speech and language. Prosodic ability is of great importance for communication, and has been shown to be affected in adults with acquired brain injury. Studies have shown that Swedish children with specific language impairment have prosodic  difficulties to a greater extent than e.g. English speaking peers. It is thereby possible that prosodic ability is more vulnerable also in Swedish speaking adults with acquired brain injury. The aim of the present study was to assess prosodic ability in adults with acquired brain injury, and to evaluate the prosodic assessment procedure that was used. The relationship between prosodic ability and general language ability, location of injury and post-onset time was examined. Fifteen adults with acquired brain injury participated, six women and nine men, aged between 30 and 82 years. The participants were tested with an assessment procedure for prosody and parts of Neurolinguistic Assessment of Aphasia (A-ning). Prosodic problems were found at word, phrase and discourse level. No clear links between prosodic ability and location of injury or time post-onset were found. However, a deviant usage of focal accents with a preserved ability to produce word accents as a result of right hemisphere injuries was found. Furthermore, a relationship between prosodic ability and general language ability was found. The prosodic procedure was proven useful for assessment of adults with acquired brain injury, but it needs additional revision. The present study contributes with additional knowledge of prosodic ability in native Swedish speaking adults with acquired brain injury.