Bridging Recovery Allies in Virtual Environments (BRAVE)
Traumatic Brain Injury
About this trial
This is an interventional other trial for Traumatic Brain Injury focused on measuring Virtual Environments, Social Communication
Eligibility Criteria
Inclusion Criteria:
- subjects with a traumatic brain injury
- between the age of 18 and 80
- living in the community
- able to read and speak English,
- are more than 1-year post-injury
- are accessible by phone,
- report independent computer usage over the last 6 months
- have access to a computer meeting minimum specifications for the Learning in Virtual Environments (LIVE) platform (requires Windows)
- have broadband Internet connection,
- achieve a Galveston Orientation Assessment Test (GOAT) score >75 to ensure appropriate levels of cognition for the study
- and score >93.8 on the Western Battery Aphasia-Revised (WAB-R) scale to indicate sufficient communicative abilities to participate in a social support group and exit interview group.
- able to understand and independently consent for the study and provide written consent prior to enrollment in the study
Exclusion Criteria:
- verbal communication impairments will be excluded as measured by the WAB-R, as this study intends to focus on persons with social communication deficits rather than verbal deficits.
Sites / Locations
- The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston
- TIRR Memorial Hermann
Arms of the Study
Arm 1
Experimental
Virtual Envrionment for Social Communication
Once the intervention begins, participants will meet online from home for one-hour sessions twice a week (twelve sessions over six weeks). Weekly sessions will follow a standardized format: 15 minutes- Social support group (guided discussion of experiences related to weekly topic) 20 minutes- Didactic instruction 15 minutes- Role playing 10 minutes- Debriefing and group feedback