This study examined casual conversations between people with severe traumatic brain injury (TBI) and their friends, comparing them to matched controls. While participants with TBI showed similar rates of giving and requesting information as controls, their friends contributed less information, and participants with TBI displayed tangential language and difficulties with conversational breakdowns, questioning, and joking. The findings suggest that people with TBI can engage in casual conversations, but friends’ communication patterns may limit interaction, highlighting areas for clinical focus and further research.
Bogart, E., Togher, L., Power, E., & Docking, K. (2012). Casual conversations between individuals with traumatic brain injury and their friends. Brain Injury, 26(3), 221–233. https://doi.org/10.3109/02699052.2011.648711