Cognitive Rehabilitation

Besides physical rehabilitation for persons with traumatic brain injury, therapists are trying a new type of rehabilitation called cognitive rehabilitation.

Cognition is the brain’s ability to select, comprehend and recall information from everyday life. Some TBI patients have a difficult time with cognition and this disability can make it more difficult to learn new tasks, solve problems and adapt to new situations at home or in the workplace.

Help with Language and Communication

According to researchers, people who suffer language
and communication problems are able to continue to make improvements a long time after their injury. This ongoing improvement includes tasks like spelling, arithmetic, and verbal communication. Patients are also able to continue
to show improvement in their ability to comprehend the meaning of books and articles they have read. Speech therapists play an important role in helping TBI patients find what areas they are good at and what areas they need more help with. Speech therapists are also able to teach compensations or finding a new way of doing old things. Compensations enable TBI patients to make up for any deficiencies they still have with language problems. TBI patients also develop better conversation skills with practice and feedback while working with speech therapists.

Memory

In the area of memory, it has been found that TBI patients are able to make longer-term memory improvements with real-life compensations. Therapists and families who help TBI patients utilize computers, pagers and notebooks saw significant increases in long term memory gain.

Problem Solving

Another important skill TBI patient’s need is the ability to solve problems. Significant progress has been seen in TBI patients who learn strategies for successful problem solving. For example, TBI patients would be asked about a problem they routinely have and encouraged to think of every possible way to solve that problem. Then, they are asked to put this solution to the test in real-life and evaluate how well that particular solution worked. TBI patients who are taught ‘shortcuts’ like these were able to improve their problem-solving abilities while those who did not receive this kind of practice, showed no improvement in their ability to solve problems.

Attention Problems

When it comes to TBI patients who have significant problems with attention, the research seems to indicate that with a lot of practice on a particular skill, patients are better able to master that skill. Patients work with their therapists and family members to repeatedly practice a skill until they are able to master it. This works with everything from writing and reading to advanced skills like driving or learning a new task at work. It’s the repetition that enables TBI patients to successfully master a new skill and overcome problems with attention. Of course, during the repetition it is important for the therapist to give the TBI patient clear feedback on what they’re doing successfully and on what areas they need to continue to practice. Practice, repetition and feedback are the key components in helping TBI patients successfully overcome attention problems.

For more: www.craighospital.org/TBI/DOC.cognitive.asp