Clinical Value of Online Measures for Adults with Right Hemisphere Brain Damage

In this paper, we argue that online measures hold considerable promise for helping us to understand, assess, and treat communication difficulties that follow right hemisphere brain damage (RHD) in adults. Online techniques contrast with offline assessments, which form the core of clinical practice. Offline measures capture the end products of the variety of cognitive operations that occur on the way to a final interpretation or response, but online techniques are capable of revealing areas of strength and weakness during language processing. This paper reviews both rationales and data that support the relevance of online techniques for adults with RHD. In addition, clinical implications are discussed that follow from the arguments and evidence we present.