Cognitive Communication Research Articles

Intercultural communicative competence in higher education through telecollaboration: typology and development

This study aims to analyse intercultural communicative competence, understood as the individual’s ability to effectively and appropriately develop communication and behaviour, when interacting in an intercultural context. In this study, the Behavioural, Affective and Cognitive Dimensions, and their sub–dimensions, are considered by using videoconferencing as a tool for telecollaboration in Higher Education. These sub–dimensions are observed according to their positive and negative orientation (facilitating or inhibiting). The objectives of the current study are to analyse the dimensions and sub–dimensions distribution, to assess the incidence of the typology of generic and specific topics, and to assess the over time communication evolution. Content analysis of communications between university peers was carried out and we undertook a percentage frequency index. The results show behavioural communications to be in the majority, followed by affective and, finally, cognitive communications. Communications with a negative aspect are almost absent from this study. MANOVA was performed to investigate differences between typologies of topics (generic/specific) in dimensions. This research founds statistically significant differences in Affective Dimension. ANOVAs were conducted to observe if there are differences in the development over time of Behavioural, Affective and Cognitive Dimensions of intercultural online communications. There was a significant effect over time in Affective and Behavioural Dimension. The present study finds expressions that show a positive attitude towards communication, as well as interest in and an effort to maintain it. We can conclude that, in Affective Dimension, where generic topics enhance communication, while educational topics inhibit it. However, a sustained evolution over time has not been found, rather a significant incidence depending on topic themes.

A retrospective study of patients presenting with speech and language therapy needs within multidisciplinary Long COVID services: A service evaluation describing and comparing two cohorts across two NHS Trusts.

Post-COVID Syndrome (also known as Long COVID) refers to the multi-system condition affecting individuals following COVID-19 infection. This can include speech and language therapy (SLT) needs, including voice, swallowing, communication and upper airway difficulties. There is limited published literature in this clinical area of practice, particularly for those receiving input from community SLT services. To describe and compare demand, typical SLT presentation and service delivery across two National Health Service (NHS) Long COVID multidisciplinary services. Independent retrospective service evaluation was completed for each service. Descriptive statistics were produced and compared across services. This service evaluation followed The Strengthening the Reporting of Observation Studies in Epidemiology guidelines for cohort studies. The findings indicated similarities across the two services in SLT service need and demand, clinical presentations and intervention approaches provided within Long COVID services. There were specific differences in the service provision and delivery of intervention in cognitive communication and upper airways subspecialities. This study highlights the clinical complexities of SLT needs in individuals with Long COVID and the importance for an appropriately skilled and supported workforce within effective multidisciplinary teams. We call for consensus on SLT practices and a consistent and standardized approach to evaluation for SLT needs in Long COVID. What is already known on this subject SLT needs, including voice, swallowing, communication and upper airway difficulties, are present in individuals presenting with Long COVID, both in those who were or were not hospitalized. SLTs are seeing such individuals in a variety of settings, including community services and Long COVID multidisciplinary teams. There is minimal evidence of the clinical presentations and interventions provided to individuals with SLT needs compared across Long COVID services. What this study adds to existing knowledge This study compares two NHS Long COVID services providing a SLT service pathway. It highlights the similarities and differences in service demand and capacity, patient presentation, and SLT intervention to make suggestions for future practice consideration and priority evaluation. Expert consensus among SLT clinicians is a priority to ensure clinicians are delivering consistent and equitable care for patients, while new evidence and data emerge. A consistent and standardized approach to data collection and outcome measures is essential to ensure future research captures the impact and value of SLT input with individuals with Long COVID. What are the clinical implications of this work? The complexities and multifactorial SLT needs of individual with Long COVID call for appropriate SLT staffing provision, skill and training to fulfil the needs of this population. Speech and language therapists should be integrated with multidisciplinary Long COVID services to provide holistic care for patients and to support the professionals working with individuals with post-COVID voice, swallowing, communication and upper airway symptoms.

Reinforcement Learning for Link Adaptation and Channel Selection in LEO Satellite Cognitive Communications

In this letter, we solve the link adaptation and channel selection problem in next generation satellite cognitive networks under dynamically varying channel availability and time-varying channel statistics. Primary user (PU) activity in Low Earth Orbit (LEO) satellite cognitive communications forces the set of available transmission channels for a secondary user (SU) to vary dynamically over time. We consider the scenario where the channel state varies in a piecewise-stationary mode, referred to as quasi-static (block-fading) channels. We formalize the problem as a reinforcement learning problem, and propose Discounted Structured and Sleeping Thompson Sampling (dSTS), which maximizes the SU’s throughput by selecting the optimum modulation and coding scheme (MCS) and the transmission channel under volatile and piecewise-stationary settings. When channel characteristics are unknown as well as piecewise-stationary, the proposed algorithm adapts the SU’s link-rate by exploiting the structure of the transmission success probability in transmission rates over the selected available channel. Furthermore, channel state information (CSI) is absent and feedback is limited to 1-bit (success/failure).

Message From the New Editor-in-Chief

As the new Editor-in-Chief (EiC), it is my great honor and pleasure to present you the first 2023 issue of IEEE Transactions on Cognitive Communications and Networking (TCCN), which includes 18 interesting papers reporting the latest advances in spectrum sharing and artificial intelligence (AI) empowered communications and networking. My work just started in January, following Dr. Ying-Chang Liang who was one of the co-founders of IEEE TCCN and served as EiC from 2019 to 2022.

Stakeholder views on cognitive communication assessment and intervention for a person living independently in the community with severe traumatic brain injury.

Cognitive communication disorder (CCD) following traumatic brain injury (TBI) is well documented and these communication problems impede successful re-integration into community living. While there is growing evidence for intervention to both detect and treat the impact of these deficits across the rehabilitation continuum, there are barriers to accessing services. Cognitive communication impairments may be missed because the person can talk, and this may mask the subtle but debilitating impact of a CCD. Referral to a speech and language therapist (SLT) may be overlooked or not timely, which prevents the individual accessing evidence-based interventions. Inadequate treatment provision and an under- or overestimation of communication capability can potentially undermine the effectiveness of wider team assessment and intervention. To report stakeholder views on specialist SLT input for CCD within a multidisciplinary team intervention for a community-dwelling individual with severe TBI. The investigation explored perspectives on understanding of CCD, on practice and on outcomes, in order to inform professional groups on perceived impacts of the evidence-to-practice gap. A semi-structured interview methodology was employed with 11 stakeholder participants involved in a single case. Data were evaluated using a thematic framework method. Themes were inductively derived from the stakeholder narratives. Stakeholders reported the following outcomes from specialist SLT input for CCD within a collaborative team approach: improved engagement with rehabilitation and support teams, improved health-related quality of life and well-being, and increased client participation in community activities of personal relevance. Stakeholders also reported inequities in wider service provision where limitations in professional understanding of CCD and knowledge of best practice recommendations preclude access to specialist SLT services. CCDs are under-recognised and this can have a devastating effect on people with CCD and on those around them. Stakeholder reports provide evidence for the effectiveness of SLT practice recommendations for the treatment of CCD following TBI. They also provide additional evidence of persisting barriers to accessing treatment. Future research to explore ways to close this evidence-to-practice gap is required. What is already known on this subject Cognitive communication difficulties are a well-documented consequence of TBI. There is evidence for the effectiveness of person-centred interventions for CCD across the recovery continuum. International evidence-based practice recommendations are in place for CCD assessment and management. Barriers to accessing SLT expertise for CCD have previously been reported. What this paper adds to existing knowledge This investigation explores the views of a diverse group of stakeholders involved in a single case of a community-dwelling individual with severe TBI. Stakeholders report positive real-world outcomes from SLT interventions for CCD within a coordinated multidisciplinary rehabilitation team. Stakeholder reports also indicate inequities in wider service provision and CCD knowledge gaps amongst professional groups providing rehabilitation services for people with TBI. What are the potential or actual clinical implications of this work? CCDs are under-recognised, with devastating effect for people with CCD and those around them. These findings underscore the importance of raising professional awareness of CCD and best practice recommendations, in order to improve access to SLT expertise for people with CCD following TBI.

Automatic Modulation Classification in Impulsive Noise: Hyperbolic-Tangent Cyclic Spectrum and Multibranch Attention Shuffle Network

Automatic modulation classification plays an essential role in cognitive communication systems. Traditional automatic modulation classification approaches are primarily developed under Gaussian noise assumptions. Nevertheless, recent empirical studies show that the impulsive noise has emerged in numerous wireless communication systems. The bursty nature of impulsive noise fundamentally challenges the applicability of traditional automatic modulation classification approaches. In order to accurately identify the modulation schemes in impulsive noise environment, in this paper, we propose a novel modulation classification approach through using hyperbolic-tangent cyclic spectrum and multi-branch attention shuffle neural networks. First, based on the designed hyperbolic-tangent autocorrelation function, hyperbolic-tangent cyclic spectrum is proposed to effectively suppress impulsive noise and extract the discriminating features. Then, based on the hyperbolic-tangent cyclic spectrum, a novel deep shuffle neural network is proposed as a classifier to perform the modulation classification through multi-branch attention mechanism to reweight all features. Both numerical and real-data experimental results demonstrate that the proposed algorithm can correctly classify modulation schemes with high accuracy and robustness in impulsive noise.

시간-주파수 분석 기법과 딥러닝을 사용한 저피탐 레이다 식별 기술의 정확도와 시간의 Trade-Off

Technology for classifying low probability of intercept (LPI) radar signals with speed and accuracy is critical for cognitive communication research. We used time-frequency analysis (TFA) and deep learning to classify 12 typical LPI radar signals. Traditional methods use the Choi-Williams distribution (CWD), which requires more than 500 times longer TFA generation time than the spectrogram method. In this paper, we show the trade-off relationship between classification accuracy and detection time using a spectrogram, Wigner-Ville distribution (WVD), and CWD as the training datasets. As a result, the CWD model showed higher accuracy than the spectrogram model, but the prediction time was more than 200 times longer. The accuracy difference was only 1 %p for an SNR over −2 dB, but it reached 7.5%p for an SNR of −10 dB. Therefore, a lower SNR shows a distinct trade-off between prediction time and accuracy, depending on the type of TFA.

Cognitive Turn of International Communication Discourse of Chinese Culture in the Globalization Context

The arrival of the digital communication era marks that human thought is gradually being regarded as a new field of contention. The “contention for concepts” has gradually evolved into the “contention for cognition” now. The contention for thinking patterns and codes of conduct enables communicators under all-media environment to participate in information processing and knowledge production by adjusting more cognitive resources. As the carrier of cultural communication, international discourse is the discourse used in China’s foreign exchanges, which aims to present the real China to foreign audiences and form their correct understanding of Chinese culture. In the globalization context, China is shaping the Chinese context globally, cultivating discourse subjects, producing Chinese international discourse in order to seek global discourse and emotional resonance on Chinese stories. This paper expounds the practical value of construction of cultural cognitive communication discourse in the globalization context, summarizes the characteristics of cognitive communication discourse, and discusses the communication requirements of cognitive discourse communication in Chinese culture, so as to enhance the appeal and acceptance of international discourse in cultural communication, and enhance the soft power of Chinese culture.

Analysis of Core Discourse and Discourse Framework on Public Opinion of US-Proposed Human Rights Issues in Xinjiang from the Perspective of Cognitive Communication

With the rise of China in all fields, US with ideological bias has waged a public opinion war against China and seized the international public opinion field through a series of means, trying to win the support from homeland and international community, then to curb China’s development and undermine China’s international image. In order to understand its internal mechanism, it is necessary to analyze the construction mechanism of public opinion discourse from the two dimensions which are core discourse and discourse framework, and meanwhile extract China’s core discourse based on the discourse framework recognized by the international community, aiming to effectively counter the American discourse hegemony, contribute more discourse framework to the international community, and promote the fair distribution of international discourse power. By taking the public opinion on Xinjiang’s human rights issues released by international mainstream medium dominated by US as an example, this paper will study the intervention process of core discourse and discourse framework, and analyze discourse construction logic where concepts hidden behind the discourse provide value support.

THE INVESTIGATION OF THE COGNITIVE COMMUNICATION FUNCTIONS OF SURVIVORS OF CORONAVIRUS DISEASE 2019 (COVID-19): A SURVEY STUDY

Objective: Coronavirus Disease-2019 (COVID-19) can cause problems in cognitive-communication functions such as attention, executive function, and short-term memory. The aim of the study is to investigate the cognitive-communication functions of survivors of COVID-19.
 Method: A total of 484 adult individuals (Age: 18-73, M=27.2, SD=6.2) participated in the study. A 40-item survey that includes attention, memory, executive functions, language, and orientation domains was used.
 Results: The common problems were related to memory function (61.4%), attention (56.2%) and executive functions (50.4%), respectively. The mainly problematic area in executive functions was found to be controlling emotions (38.9%). Participants reported that 37.6% of them had problems with their naming skills during a conversation.
 Conclusion: While there may be fewer problems with orientation skills, which is one of the cognitive communication functions, in individuals with COVID-19, problems in short-term memory, maintaining attention, and organizing emotions can be seen more.

GENERIC AND TAILORED INTERVENTIONS FOR COMMUNITY OLDER ADULTS WITH CHRONIC COGNITIVE COMMUNICATION DISORDERS

Abstract Many Community-Dwelling Older Adults (CDOA) live with debilitating chronic cognitive and communication disorders including Aphasia, Mild Cognitive Impairment, and Traumatic Brain Injury, and no longer receive healthcare services. This portion of the symposium will discuss why engaging CDOA and their caregivers with developing and selecting interventions for their cognitive communication disorders is important. Further, we discuss a community-based approach to make generic as well as tailored speech-language pathology services available to CDOA free of charge. The process of developing and using a multi-stakeholder advisory board of clinicians, researchers, CDOA, as well as a diverse advisory board of caregivers will be described, and challenges will be discussed. Further, we will present and discuss some relevant data.

Cognitive Learning-Aided Multi-Antenna Communications

Cognitive communications have emerged as a promising solution to enhance, adapt, and invent new tools and capabilities that transcend conventional wireless networks. Deep learning (DL) is critical in enabling essential features of cognitive systems because of its fast prediction performance, adaptive behavior, and model-free structure. These features are especially significant for multi-antenna wireless communications systems, which generate and handle massive data. Multiple antennas may provide multiplexing, diversity, or antenna gains that improve the capacity, bit error rate, or the signal-to-interference-plus-noise ratio, respectively. In practice, multi-antenna cognitive communications encounter challenges in terms of data complexity and diversity, hardware complexity, and wireless channel dynamics. DL solutions such as federated learning, transfer learning, and online learning tackle these problems at various stages of communications processing, including multi-channel estimation, hybrid beamforming, user localization, and sparse array design. This article provides a synopsis of various DL-based methods to impart cognitive behavior to multi-antenna wireless communications for improved robustness and adaptation to the environmental changes while providing satisfactory spectral efficiency and computation times. We discuss DL design challenges from the perspective of data, learning and transceiver architectures. In particular, we suggest quantized learning models, data/model parallelization, and distributed learning methods to address the aforementioned challenges.

Characteristics of language and communication after subcortical lesions in the left and right hemisphere

<h3>Research Objectives</h3> The present case comparison investigates to our knowledge for the first time, whether the dichotomy of specific linguistic and communicative characteristics following left and right hemisphere cortical lesions can also be demonstrated after subcortical damage. Classically, left hemisphere cortical lesions of language-relevant areas cause aphasia (Raymer & Rothi, 2018), with cardinal symptoms on a microlinguistic level (e.g. phonologic and semantic errors). Damage to right-hemisphere cortical areas typically results in Cognitive Communication Disorders (CCDs) (Blake, 2018). Symptoms of CCDs are mainly evident on a macrolinguistic level (e.g. tangentiality, verbosity). <h3>Design</h3> Systematic single-case comparison. <h3>Setting</h3> Neurological rehabilitation clinic. <h3>Participants</h3> Two persons with comparable subcortical lesions after postacute left (Patient A) and right (Patient B) basal ganglia hemorrhage stroke. Patient A: Anomic aphasia (Huber et al., 1983), fluent spontaneous speech, short, syntactically simple sentences, word-retrieval problems. Patient B: CCD (Quinting et al., 2020), fluent spontaneous speech, complex, partially paragrammatic syntax. <h3>Interventions</h3> Participants were assessed for communicative-pragmatic ability using the ANELT (Blomert et al., 1994; Rubi-Fessen et al., 2021). Responses were analyzed with regard to linguistic and communicative-pragmatic aspects. A linguistic evaluation was performed by computer-assisted software 'Aachen spontaneous speech analysis' (ASPA, Huber et al., 2005). <h3>Main Outcome Measures</h3> A-scale of the ANELT and linguistic parameters of ASPA. <h3>Results</h3> The results of the ANELT-A-scale were comparable for both patients (Patient A: 84/100, Patient B: 81/100 points). On a microlinguistic level, Patient A showed phonematic paraphasias; ASPA analyses revealed deviations from normative data from non-brain-damaged speakers (Hussmann et al., 2012) concerning all parameters except for type-token-ratio. Patient B´s reactions were syntactically complex and less coherent, indicating problems on a macrolinguistic level. However, ASPA analyses showed results slightly below average concerning percentage words and type-token-ratio. <h3>Conclusions</h3> Typical linguistic-communicative characteristics of cortical left- and right-hemispheric lesions may appear equivalently in left- and right hemispheric subcortical damage. With comparably good communicative effectiveness in the ANELT, these characteristics can also be shown quantitatively by specific patterns in spontaneous speech parameters in ASPA analyses. <h3>Author(s) Disclosures</h3> All authors report no conflicts of interest.

MOSFET-C Shadow Filters Based on FDCCII for Cognitive Communications

In cognitive communications, it is very important to be able to use data in different standards with a single receiver for reducing the cost. In order to achieve this, the application of shadow filters in cognitive communications provides an advantage in terms of having both a wide frequency range and an easy reconfiguration. In this paper, new MOSFET-C shadow filters based on the Fully Differential Second-Generation Current Conveyor (FDCCII) are proposed for cognitive communications. To facilitate electronic tuning of the filter parameters, MOSFET-C-based implementation is used. Fully differential applications increase the dynamic range of analog blocks. Also, fully differential implementations with MOSFET-C filters are useful in analog signal processing. The presented filters have the least number of components and no additional summing circuit. This study presents new FDCCII-based MOSFET-C shadow filters for cognitive communications design that provide HP, LP and BP transfer functions at the same time. In this study, two MOSFET-C shadow filters based on FDCCII are designed for single gain and double gain. The presented filters offer circuit simplicity compared to past shadow filter designs. The features of these new shadow filters are explained. Simulation results are presented to confirm the theoretical analysis.

Categorical perception of lexical tones in Chinese people with post-stroke aphasia

ABSTRACT This study used the categorical perception (CP) paradigm, a fine-grained perceptual method, to investigate the perceptual performance of lexical tones in Chinese people with post-stroke aphasia (PWA). Twenty patients with post-stroke aphasia (10 Broca’s and 10 Wernicke’s) and ten neurologically intact age-matched control participants were recruited to complete both identification and discrimination tasks of the Mandarin Tone 1–2 continuum. In addition, all participants completed tests on their auditory comprehension ability and working memory. The results showed that both Broca’s and Wernicke’s patients exhibited reduced sensitivity to within-category and between-category information but preserved CP of lexical tones. The degree of CP of lexical tones related to working memory in aphasic patients. Furthermore, lower-level acoustic processing underpinned higher-level phonological processing on the CP of lexical tones since both patient groups’ unbalanced pitch processing ability extended to their CP of lexical tones. These findings are significant for researchers and clinicians in speech-language rehabilitation, clinical psychology, and cognitive communication.

251 PREVALENCE AND CHARACTERISTICS OF SWALLOWING/COMMUNICATION IMPAIRMENTS IN FRAIL OLDER ADULTS ATTENDING THE EMERGENCY DEPARTMENT: A RETROSPECTIVE COHORT STUDY

Abstract Background The presentation of frail older adults to the Emergency Department (ED) may be complicated by swallowing and/or communication impairment. Adults with communication impairment may experience difficulty accessing healthcare. Dysphagia is associated with frailty irrespective of age and/or number of chronic diseases [1]. This study aims to determine the prevalence and characteristics of swallowing and/or communication impairments among frail older adults attending the ED. Methods A retrospective cohort study of consecutive ED attendees aged ≥ 75 years assessed by an interdisciplinary Gerontological ED team between October 2021 – February 2022 was conducted. A swallow/communication screening tool determined requirement for Speech and Language Therapy (SLT) referral. Data related to demographics and SLT interventions was extracted. Data analysis was completed using STATA Version 12. Ethical approval was obtained. Results Among 518 patients, 118 (23%) (mean age 82.4 (+/-6.4) years, 54% male) required SLT assessment. These patients had high rates of frailty (Median CFS= 6 (IQR 5-7), suspected delirium (4AT ≥ 4 in 45%), suspected malnutrition (MNA score 0-11 in 75%), and probable sarcopenia (SARC-F= ≥ 4 in 75%). Therapy Outcome Measurement Scales and the Functional Oral Intake Scale were used in this first episode of SLT care. Oropharyngeal dysphagia was identified for 43% (27% mild, 10% moderate, 3% moderate-severe, 3% severe), with 6% presenting with signs/symptoms of oesophageal dysphagia. Changes in baseline communication was identified for 57%; cognitive communication difficulties (38%), dysarthria (11%), dysphonia (8%). SLT intervention and management approaches were initiated in the ED. Conclusion Findings indicate a high prevalence of swallowing/communication impairment in frail older adults attending the ED. Future research should explore SLT outcomes at point of discharge to refine these swallowing/communication presentations. Reference 1. Bahat G et al. Association between dysphagia and frailty in community-dwelling older adults. The Journal of Nutrition, Health &amp; Ageing. 2019:23, 571–577.

191 THE DEVELOPMENT OF A COGNITIVE COMMUNICATION PROGRAMME FOR OLDER PERSONS IN THE EARLY STAGES OF REDUCED COGNITIVE FUNCTION

Abstract Background Research indicates that cognitive and language stimulation activities can promote the maintenance of skill set. The Speech and Language and Occupational Therapy Service on an Integrated Care Team for the Older Person’s and Reablement team developed and implemented a six-week cognitive communication stimulation programme aimed at targeting cognitive and communication functions in older people in the early stages of cognitive decline. The programme outline targeted the following four domains: Memory, Attention, Language and Problem Solving. These areas have been identified as imperative skills for successful engagement and communication in everyday tasks. It was developed during the pandemic with an awareness of the social isolation and reduced opportunity for engaging with cognitive and language activities for older persons locally. Methods The programme was targeted within the person’s home in order to optimise the best outcomes for generalisation of skills. The implementation of the programme was supported by therapists and therapy assistants. The impact of the project was measured by a 10-point scale targeting the Older Person’s perceived skills in each cognitive domain pre and post programme implementation. The Mini-Cog was also completed pre and post-programme implementation. Results Preliminary results from 20 participants demonstrated positive outcomes for older persons who engaged in the programme. Older persons' reported feeling more confident in managing the skills required to maintain cognitive functions. Conclusion Cognitive and language stimulation activities can support the maintenance of cognitive skills when targeted in the early stages of cognitive decline. There is a greater likelihood of skill maintenance when targeted within the person’s home context.

The Cognitive Communication between the Grammatical and Fundamentalist Lessons Al-Kawkab Al-Durri by Al-Esnawi (772 A.H. ) as a Model

The communication among sciences is considered a method of sustaining the scientific movement at the modern and ancient times . The fruits of this communication are reflected on many issues illustratively and understandingly . And, the communication between grammar and its origins and jurisprudence and its origins was and still is an important aspect of sciences reaction and integrity .The Holy Quran and the Prophetic tradition , the main sources of Islamic legislation , were a cause of establishing the linguistic sciences as grammar, morphology, rhetoric and dictionaries as well as they were a cause of establishing the Islamic law sciences like : doctrine, interpretation, and jurisprudence with its origins . Syntax was of the most important sciences for it is the most correlated to the Islamic jurisprudence and is considered a term to access the diligence rank in jurisprudence . The relationship between grammar and jurisprudence is based on affecting and being affected . The book ( Al-Kawkab Al-Durri fi ma yatakharraj ala al-Usoul al-Nahaweya min al-Fouroua’ al-faqheya ) by Imam Jamal-addin Al-Esnawi ( 772 A.H.) had a favour in revealing the great aspect of this relationship that we will attempt to examine its components and occurrences .

Virtual INSIGHT: Improving natural social interaction: Group reHabilitation after traumatic brain injury.

There is a growing body of literature that indicates positive outcomes of group treatment approaches to intervention for communication difficulties in chronic traumatic brain injury (TBI). The published research to date examines face-to-face group intervention. This study draws on one of these approaches, 'Improving Natural Social Interaction: Group reHabilitation after Traumatic brain injury' (INSIGHT), and examines the adaptation of this program to a virtual setting. The principles underlying the program, which involved providing an authentic contextualised and natural environment for group interactions and enhancing opportunities for identity expression, were maintained. Six participants with mild to severe TBI and cognitive communication difficulties participated in an 8-week pilot program of the virtual INSIGHT program. Goal Attainment Scaling (GAS) scores completed over the course of the intervention served as the primary outcome measure. Secondary outcomes measures included The Repeatable Battery for the Assessment of Neuropsychological Status Update, The Awareness of Social Inference Test-Revised, the La Trobe Communication Questionnaire and the Satisfaction with Life Scale. A mixed multilevel analysis revealed significant improvement in GAS scores. A Wilcoxon signed rank test revealed no significant changes in secondary measures. There is a growing potential for this group treatment approach, in an online medium, and progress towards individualised goals was clear. The data have implications for examining the assessment measures typically used to document functional outcomes in clinical intervention. Future directions indicate a need to pursue more ecologically valid assessment methods. What is already known on the subject Recent literature has focused on the benefits of group intervention for cognitive communication diffuclties after traumatic brain injury (TBI). However, research to date examines only face-to-face group rehabilitation. As there has been a demand for a shift in the way we communicate worldwide, we must make adaptations to current intervention procedures to continue to serve individuals with diverse communication needs. What this paper adds to existing knowledge This study contributes new information about the feasibility of a virtual communication skills group for individuals with TBI. This virtual INSIGHT (Improving Natural Social Interaction: Group ehabilitation after Traumatic brain injury) group intervention facilitates progress towards collaboratively set communication goals and the online setting has the potential to increase the accessibility of these services. What are the potential or actual clinical implications of this work? Progress towards cognitive and social communication goals can be facilitated by an online group intervention. However, this progress was not correlated with scores on standard assessments of cognitive communication, social communication and quality of life. This has implications for the evaluation of the assessments typically used and their ecological validity and applicability to the communication context.

РОЛЬ ВЗРОСЛОГО В РАЗВИТИИ РЕЧИ ДЕТЕЙ МЛАДШЕГО ДОШКОЛЬНОГО ВОЗРАСТА И СПЕЦИФИКА ВЗАИМОДЕЙСТВИЯ СО ВЗРОСЛЫМИ В ЭПОХУ ЦИФРОВИЗАЦИИ

An important role in the speech development of preschool children is assigned to interaction with adults, since the child masters speech by imitation, repeating what he hears from adults. Currently, one of the trends in the development of countries is the process of digital transformation, affecting all spheres of society. In the era of digitalization, the nature of a child's interaction with an adult is fundamentally changing, which cannot but affect his speech and mental development. The purpose of the research is to study the specifics of interaction and the role of an adult in the speech development of preschool children during the era of digitalization. In the era of digitalization, the content, means, and essence of the communication process itself are changing significantly. Digital technologies, starting from the younger preschool age, significantly transform consciousness, perception. A special type of thinking is being formed – mosaic thinking. This is reflected, among other things, on the speech development of the child: real communication is replaced by virtual, emotional contact is lost. Children increasingly perceive fragmentary speech, devoid of strict grammatical outlines and compositional design. The importance of direct communication and interaction with adults is being lost and transformed, and specifically at the level of emotional contact, individual communication, cognitive communication, interaction during joint activities. Not only the level of children’s speech development is significantly reduced, but also the need for verbal communication itself.