(Cont’d)
Once you have decided upon a reasonable schedule, you can introduce specific activities designed to improve the injured individual’s cognitive abilities. Almost any task can be used for cognitive retraining from dressing in the morning to playing checkers or taking college level classes. Before deciding on a specific activity, however, you need to make sure the activity is appropriate and that YOU will be able to follow through.
Try to select activities which minimize your involvement (transportation, travel and waiting time, supervision) while building the injured individual’s ability to work independently. Use community resources (public library, parks and recreation department programs, public school programs, etc.) whenever possible: they are generally inexpensive and provide opportunities for social contact. If you plan to buy equipment to use at home, make sure it is safe, sturdy, an appropriate size, and can be repaired. Check out educational supply and craft stores for things such as rubber puzzles, reading programs, craft projects, games, and simple recreational activities. Avoid supplies that, while at appropriate cognitive levels, were clearly designed for young children: adults are insulted by cute little frogs commending them for doing a good job.
Typically, learning occurs at an extremely slow rate after head injury: it may take thousands of trials to acquire new information and to be able to retrieve it reliably. Few family members have either the patience or the time to present the same material thousands of times. This is one of the reasons why computers are increasingly used in cognitive retraining: they will present the same material in exactly the same way as many times as is necessary without becoming frustrated, angry or bored. Try a variety of ways to teach the individual new information and use as many ways as you can simultaneously. Use activities which the individual knew how to do before the injury if possible.
No one likes to spend prolonged periods of time working on activities they do not do well. Make sure your cognitive retraining program includes activities which the individual can perform well and enjoys doing; guarantee success as much as possible to keep motivation high. Be creative and flexible but don’t change an activity until you are certain it won’t work or the individual has mastered it and is ready to move on to the next step.
When family members have a well-organized plan to re-build skills after head injury, the injured individual is more likely to continue to recover and to maximize his abilities while minimizing family stress.
Reprinted by permission of Judith Falconer, Ph.D., 8343 Currant Way, Parker, CO 80134 www.brain-train.com
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