New Publication Highlights the Importance of Assessing Communication Skills for Returning to Work After Brain Injury

The Hopkins Centre is celebrating a new publication by Clinical Fellow Kate Cameron, whose Fellowship research is helping to improve support for people returning to work after an acquired brain injury (ABI).   

Published in the International Journal of Language & Communication Disorders, the study explores how clinicians assess cognitive-communication skills when supporting people with ABI to re-enter the workforce. Cognitive-communication difficulties are pervasive in the ABI population  and can affect everyday workplace performance by impacting a person’s ability in areas such as following conversations, understanding instructions, problem-solving, and communicating effectively with colleagues.  

The publication is an important outcome of Kate’s Hopkins Centre Clinical Fellowship, which focused on improving the way these skills are assessed and supported during vocational rehabilitation. The mixed methods research that captured the perspectives of clinicians internationally, found that current assessment  practices do not always reflect the real-world communication challenges people with ABI may experience at work.  

The findings highlight the need for the involvement of speech language pathologists in return to work teams, and for more practical and workplace-focused assessment methods to help interprofessional teams better understand an individual's communication ability post ABI. Improved interdisciplinary collaboration and tools will ultimately support more successful and sustainable return to employment after ABI.

Kate, a Senior Speech Pathologist with the Acquired Brain Injury Transitional Rehabilitation Service at Princess Alexandra Hospital, led the study in collaboration with Associate Professor Petrea Cornwell, Dr Kerrin Watter, Dr Vanette McLennan and Nina Wegener.

This publication represents an important step towards improving rehabilitation services and employment outcomes for people living with brain injury. The Hopkins Centre congratulates Kate and her co-authors on this significant achievement and the ongoing impact of her Fellowship research.

Read the publication:

Cameron, K., Cornwell, P., Watter, K., McLennan, V., Wegener, N., & Hewetson, R. (2026). Assessing Cognitive Communication Disorders for Return to Work Following Acquired Brain Injury: A Mixed Methods Investigation of Clinical Experiences and Perspectives. International journal of language & communication disorders, 61(4), e70265. https://doi.org/10.1111/1460-6984.70265