Attention remains the foundation of all cognitively based tasks and is a fundamental concept to communicate to patients before beginning therapy. This handout provides a definition and concrete examples of each type of attention.
This handout outlines the pathway of the visual fields as they travel from the light rays entering the eyeball to the occipital lobe at the back of the brain. This helps clarify why certain left or right brain injuries will have different kinds of field cuts on the same or opposite sides of the brain, depending on location of damage.
This handout includes accessible, evidence-based information about how stress affects cognition and features 30 simple strategies to try that may help reduce stress. It is particularly designed for patients and families in the midst of rehabilitation after traumatic events.
Handout illustrating the cognitive-linguistic scope of practice for speech-language pathologists. This handout describes a brief history of the field and breaks down the following cognitive-linguistic therapy targets: Initiation, anticipation, sequencing, impulse control, attention, memory, planning, organization, problem solving, visuospatial processing.
This handout reviews overcoming denial, observing the situation, and learning from the experience and provides a list of books and websites that brain injury survivors can look to for information about resilience.
This handout features a 10-stage version of the Rancho Los Amigos scale for those recovering from severe brain injuries. The handout describes each of the 10 stages and provides specific strategies for how families can interact and engage with their loved one during each stage.
Perseveration can be a confusing and frustrating symptom of brain injury for patients and their family and friends. This handout is designed to describe the neurological basis for perseveration, including why it happens as well as examples of how it manifests throughout the day. The handout offers suggestions for what to do when someone is perseverating.
Paroxysmal sympathetic hyperactivity or “storming” is a stress response and can be observed in the early stages following a severe brain injury. This handout explains the signs and symptoms that can be observed and secondary effects/risks.
This handout is for patients who have survived brain injury and provides health literacy information regarding the brain’s ability to reorganize itself through structural and functional neuroplasticity. The handout is meant to improve insight and understanding into the need for repetition and intensity of tasks in the structured therapy environment.