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Kasey Metcalf, the staff from Westmead Brain Injury Unit, particularly Dr Kathy McCarthy, Dr Alex Walker and Anna Jones, Dr Ian Baguley, Dr Joe Gurka and Rod Gilroy, and the staff at the Royal Rehabilitation Centre Sydney Brain Injury Unit, especially Audrey McCarry and Dr Clayton King, and the private speech pathologist, Gaye Murrills. References Coelho, C. A. (2007). Management of discourse deficits following traumatic brain injury: Progress, caveats, and needs. Seminars in Speech & Language , 28 (2), 122–135. Dahlberg, C. A., Cusick, C. P., Hawley, L. A., Newman, J. K., Morey, C. E., Harrison-Felix, C. L., et al. (2007). Treatment efficacy of social communication skills training after traumatic brain injury: A randomized treatment and deferred treatment controlled trial. Archives of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation , 88 (12), 1561–1573. Flanagan, S., McDonald, S., & Togher, L. (1995). Evaluating social skills following traumatic brain injury: The BRISS as a clinical tool. Brain Injury , 9 (4), 321–338. Togher, L., & Grant, S. (1998). Community policing: A training program for police in how to communicate with people with traumatic brain injury . Unpublished manuscript. Togher, L., Hand, L., & Code, C. (1997). Analysing discourse in the traumatic brain injury population:telephone interactions with different communication partners. Brain Injury , 11 (3), 169–189. Togher, L., McDonald, S., Tate, R., Power, E., & Rietdijk, R. (2009). Training communication partners of people with TBI: Reporting the protocol for a clinical trial. Brain Impairment , 10 (2), 188–204. Ylvisaker, M., Feeney, T. J., & Urbanczyk, B. (1993). Developing a positive communication culture for rehabilitation: Communication training for staff and family members. In C. J. Durgin, N. D. Schmidt, & L. J. Fryer (Eds.), Staff development and clinical intervention in brain injury rehabilitation (pp. 57–81). Gaithersburg, MD: Aspen. Ylvisaker, M., Sellars, C., & Edelman, L. (1998). Rehabilitation after traumatic brain injury in preschoolers. In M. Ylvisaker (Ed.), Traumatic brain injury rehabilitation. Children and adolescents (pp. 303–329). Newton, MA: Butterworth-Heinemann. Associate Professor Leanne Togher is a speech pathologist and NH&MRC senior research fellow at the Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Sydney. Her research interests include the training communication partners of people with acquired neurogenic communication disorders. Dr Emma Power is a speech pathologist and research associate at the Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Sydney, Australia. She is the project manager and senior clinician for the TBI express clinical trial. Professor Skye McDonald is a neuropsychologist and professor & director of the Masters (Clinical) Psychology Program at the School of Psychology, UNSW. Professor Robyn Tate is a neuropsychologist and professor at the Rehabilitation Studies Unit, Northern Clinical School, Faculty of Medicine, University of Sydney, and Royal Rehabilitation Centre Sydney. Ms Rachael Rietdijk is a speech pathologist and the TBI express clinical trial research clinician. Correspondence to: Associate Professor Leanne Togher PhD Speech Pathology, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Sydney PO Box 170, Lidcombe NSW 1825 Australia phone: +61 2 9351 9639 fax: 61 2 9351 9163 email: leanne.togher@sydney.edu.au

are too frequently affected following the injury. This area requires further study and consideration, and it is hoped that the development of practical clinical tools may assist clinicians in more easily in their clinical practice working with families, friends and others in the social network of the person with TBI. Acknowledgements We would like to thank all our participants in this study, the staff from Liverpool Brain Injury Unit, particularly Dr Grahame Simpson, Dr Adeline Hodgkinson, Manal Nasreddine, and Box B. Messages for communication partners 1. Approach conversations with the goal of collaborating with each other to reach a common understanding or decision. Conversations need a balance of asking questions, listening and understanding, and sharing information about your own ideas and experiences. Participant: “I realised I just asked questions all the time like ‘Did you enjoy the holiday, and what did we do?’. Now I use comments and give her time to spark her own memory. I say,’ “It was a great holiday, my favourite day was the zoo and the white tiger, he was amazing’. When I give her a little bit of information she can build on it.” 2. Use conversations as a way of introducing new and more complex information and ideas (elaboration). People with traumatic brain injury may have a limited range of topics they can talk about. By talking about new topics in daily conversations, people with TBI can expand their knowledge of the world and have more interesting things to talk about with other people. One of our participants found that by introducing her son to other topics in the world and exploring those more, he was able to provide many opinions she thought he wasn’t capable of expressing. He also reduced the amount of time he spent on the same topic and subsequently, also the frustration his family experienced with his repetition. 3. Use thinking supports as part of daily conversations. For example, make reference to a diary when planning for the future, look back at photos when talking about past events, use a written organiser with headings (e.g. who, what, where, when) when talking about planning for an event. Rather than saying “no, we can’t have the BBQ here, there’s too many people, we’ll have it at a community centre”, use helpful “conversational guides” that encourage the person with TBI to think it through in collaboration. For example, “now I’m thinking we’ve got a lot of people coming, our place is pretty small [see if this triggers a response] … let’s think of bigger places we could have it ...[wait for response]”. 4. Avoid asking questions to which you already know the answer. Instead, try to use real questions which explore ideas, feelings and opinions. This creates a more natural, adult conversation and gives more confidence to the person with TBI in front of others. One participant said: “He went to the movies and I knew what he saw. Before the course I would have asked him, did he remember what it was called and who went with him. How boring! Now I ask him, what was the best bit of the movie, or did he prefer the other Die Hard movies or this one, how were they different? It’s amazing what he remembers then. It’s not perfect but wouldn’t you rather talk about that … I would!” 5. Give specific, positive feedback when you have a successful conversation with the person with TBI, or when you notice the person having a successful conversation with someone else. For example: “It was great talking about the news this evening, you’re giving me more detail about your opinions, and I enjoy the chat.”

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ACQ uiring knowledge in speech, language and hearing