Jean Lengenfelder, PhD, of the Kessler Foundation, received a two-year $ 168,001 grant from the New Jersey Commission on Brain Injury Research to study the impact of traumatic brain injury (TBI) on children’s ability to reliably process other people’s emotions.
Children with TBI often struggle with social interactions and relationships, even years after the injury. Difficulty in emotional processing can contribute to these social problems. In particular, difficulty recognizing emotions from facial expressions can adversely affect social interactions, emotions, and quality of life.
Although there has been much research on emotional processing problems in adults with TBI, much less has been done in children with TBI who have these deficits. The development and implementation of therapies to improve emotional processing are critical to improving the way these children work at home, in school, and ultimately, in the workplace. “
Dr. Jean Lengenfelder, Deputy Director, Center for Traumatic Brain Injury Research, Kessler Foundation
Dr. Lengenfelder’s pilot study is based on an existing 12-session treatment used to teach adults with TBI to correctly recognize facial expressions of different emotions. The research team will adapt this treatment to the pediatric population, and test its effectiveness in improving emotional processing deficits in children undergoing TBI.
The Kessler Foundation conducts a child rehabilitation study in partnership with the Children ‘s Special Hospital.