Personer som har traumatisk hjärnskada : Upplevelser av skadan och kommunikation efter skadan

Sammanfattning: An alteration in the function of the brain caused by an external force is called a Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI). There are language features located in different areas of the brain, and depending on where a person gets a TBI, the person can experience different communicative difficulties. These can manifest as aphasia, dysarthria or cognitive communicative disorders. The experiences of TBI that have been discovered in previous studies are for instance about how persons with TBI experience their diminished functions, life adjustment after the injury, the role and support of the relatives, that the environment treats them differently after the injury and emotional consequences. For the purpose of investigation and intervention, ICF is a useful tool since the difficulties that a person may have can be connected to its various components. The purpose of this study is to examine what experiences persons with TBI have regarding their brain injury and their communicative difficulties, and also how these can be connected to ICF. To answer the research questions, a qualitative method involving content analysis was used, based on semi-structured interviews with four participants. The participants expressed that their TBI had affected them in various ways, communicative, cognitive, physically and socially. The participants experienced their injuries and difficulties as limiting and that some periods had been lonely. However they also stated that there were some positive aspects in the situation, for example improved family relations and that they valued life in another way. Although the injuries, difficulties and rehabilitation of the participants have differed, the participants stories have been similar to some extent. In the future it would be interesting to conduct further studies in Sweden that examine which experiences persons with TBI have regarding the injury itself, but particularly regarding their communication after the TBI. It is important with more studies since that would give speech language pathologists a greater understanding for how people with TBI experience their situation and their communication after the injury.