Interactive Alignment After Communication Partner Training in Adults With Traumatic Brain Injury.

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Bibliographic Details
Title:	Interactive Alignment After Communication Partner Training in Adults With Traumatic Brain Injury.
Authors:	Bode-Akinboye, Eniola¹, Rietdijk, Rachel², Dale, Rick³, Turkstra, Lyn S.¹ urkstrl@mcmaster.ca
Source:	American Journal of Speech-Language Pathology. May2026, Vol. 35 Issue 3, p994-1008. 15p.
Subject Terms:	Data analysis, Communicative disorders, Interpersonal relations, Communication education, *Comparative studies, Research funding, Secondary analysis, Severity of illness index, Judgment sampling, Natural language processing, Descriptive statistics, Statistics, Brain injuries, Data analysis software
Abstract:	Purpose: Adults with moderate-severe traumatic brain injury (TBI) often have significant communication challenges, particularly in interpersonal conversations. Most research aiming to understand these challenges has used static measures of behaviors shown by the person with TBI. Conversation is a dynamic, self-organizing, interactive communication genre, however, and static measures cannot capture those dynamics. We sought to advance understanding of conversational dynamics after TBI by characterizing partners' interactive alignment (IA), wherein two people begin to use the same words, gestures, and other communication features over time. Specifically, we asked how adults with TBI and their communication partners synchronized their word choices with each other and if that synchrony changed after the pair completed communication partner training (CPT). Method: We analyzed de-identified transcripts of purposeful conversation between 18 adults with TBI and their communication partners, pre- and post-CPT, using recurrence quantification analysis. Results: Contrary to our prediction that IA would increase, there was no significant change in IA but a decrease in determinism, as dyads used words and phrases in more diverse ways after training. Conclusion: These results show how IA can be used in treatment studies and suggest ways that CPT could affect dynamics of conversations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
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Database:	Education Research Complete

Description
Abstract:	Purpose: Adults with moderate-severe traumatic brain injury (TBI) often have significant communication challenges, particularly in interpersonal conversations. Most research aiming to understand these challenges has used static measures of behaviors shown by the person with TBI. Conversation is a dynamic, self-organizing, interactive communication genre, however, and static measures cannot capture those dynamics. We sought to advance understanding of conversational dynamics after TBI by characterizing partners' interactive alignment (IA), wherein two people begin to use the same words, gestures, and other communication features over time. Specifically, we asked how adults with TBI and their communication partners synchronized their word choices with each other and if that synchrony changed after the pair completed communication partner training (CPT). Method: We analyzed de-identified transcripts of purposeful conversation between 18 adults with TBI and their communication partners, pre- and post-CPT, using recurrence quantification analysis. Results: Contrary to our prediction that IA would increase, there was no significant change in IA but a decrease in determinism, as dyads used words and phrases in more diverse ways after training. Conclusion: These results show how IA can be used in treatment studies and suggest ways that CPT could affect dynamics of conversations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
ISSN:	10580360
DOI:	10.1044/2025_AJSLP-25-00226