Dysphagia & Nutritional Interventions for Patients with Acquired Brain Injuries
30/11/09 20:45 Filed in: Module#5
Dysphagia is defined as difficulty or discomfort with swallowing. Morgan and Ward [2001] have noted that traumatic brain injury, associated with focal and diffuse cortical and brainstem damage, may impair swallowing ability and lead to the development of dysphagia and aspiration. Swallowing has four sequential coordinated phases which are summarized in Table 5.1.
DownloadCognition Interventions Post Acquired Brain Injury
29/11/09 20:45 Filed in: Module#6
Evaluating the efficacy of remediation or rehabilitation of attention deficits following a brain injury is complicated by a number of factors. First, there is no consensus regarding a definition of attention. Is it a general construct or does it reflect more specific sub-components or systems of functioning (e.g., sustained, divided, focused, selective, vigilance, speed of information processing, etc). Second, different researchers and clinicians will report using the same or similar tests to measure different aspects of attention. Third, a study may use the same outcome measures repeatedly, thereby confounding practice and treatment effects (e.g., PASAT performance improves significantly with repeated exposure to the test). Finally, studies may not consider and account for the rate of spontaneous recovery following brain injury (i.e. Would participants naturally show recovery of function in the absence of treatment?).
DownloadCommunication Deficits Following Acquired Brain Injury Intervention & Treatments
28/11/09 20:45 Filed in: Module#7
The purpose of this chapter is to review evidence based research concerning communication disorders following a moderate to severe acquired brain injury (ABI). Strict criteria for inclusion of studies in this module are outlined in the methodology section.
DownloadTreatment of Challenging Behaviour Following Brain Injury
27/11/09 20:45 Filed in: Module#8
Behaviour can be defined as any interaction between an organism and their environment. This encompasses almost everything that humans do; however, most people tend to think of behavioural problems in a more restricted sense of antisocial, uncooperative or negative interactions associated with interpersonal problems. Challenging behaviour following a brain injury occurs with a relatively high frequency (25-50%). Challenging behaviour can include, but is not limited to, the following: non-compliance with treatment, anger, agitation, verbal and/or physical aggression and depression. The emergence of these behaviours likely arises from injury to the frontal lobes and more specifically the orbitofrontal areas resulting in disinhibited behaviour and lack of recognition of the consequences of one’s behaviour. Typically behavioural management techniques and pharmacological interventions are used to minimize and/or alleviate these challenges with varying degrees of success.
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