Word-finding strategies in closed head injured adults

Abstract

Word-finding difficulties are a common and prominent language deficit following closed head injury. The word-finding difficulties of three closed head injured patients were investigated within the framework of compensatory strategies using Teicher's Taxonomy of Word-Finding Strategies (Teicher, 1986). The word-finding difficulties were evaluated during procedural discourse and two confrontation naming conditions. Each subject's communicative competence and language ability was determined. Results indicated that all subjects employed a wide range of strategies, particularly during confrontation naming, but with differential effectiveness. A relationship was noted between the strategy's effectiveness and the subject's pragmatic ability. The results are discussed in the light of the existing literature on head injury. The theoretical and clinical implications are considered.