The discourse of 91 children who had sustained severe
(n = 68) or mild (n = 23) closed head
injury (CHI) was examined at least three years postinjury.
The groups' retellings of a narrative story were analyzed
according to two domains, information and language. In
comparison to the mild CHI group, the severe group produced
stories characterized by reduced content and information,
impaired organization, fewer words, and less complex sentences.
The relationships between discourse production and the
groups' performance on measures of language, executive
function, memory, and processing speed were examined. Correlations
were found between discourse production and general verbal
ability including verbal fluency. Correlations were also
found for discourse performance and executive function
measures associated with problem solving and working memory.
Site and extent of lesion were not useful in predicting
discourse production. These findings indicate that children
who sustain a severe closed head injury during early to
middle childhood are at risk for persisting deficits in
discourse processing and other cognitive abilities. (JINS,
2000, 6, 741–751)