Poster Session #1: UC South Ballroom

Author Information

Leia K. ChapmanFollow

Presentation Type

Poster

Faculty Mentor’s Full Name

Dr. Catherine Off

Faculty Mentor’s Department

Communicative Science and Disorders

Abstract / Artist's Statement

Patients who sustain a traumatic brain injury (TBI) experience chronic impairments of attention that can be devastating to participating in their daily lives. With 5.3 million Americans suffering from long-term effects of their injury, cognitive-communication therapy and rehabilitation following a TBI is vital for successful daily functioning in educational, vocational, and recreational contexts. Sustained attention is the ability to concentrate on a task for an extended period of time without being distracted. Sustained attention is required for many daily tasks, such as: participating in conversations, focusing during school, concentrating while driving, or reading a book. Sustained attention is commonly supported in therapy by training and implementing the use of compensatory strategies. Compensatory strategies include assistive technology, mnemonics, environmental placement (e.g., sitting at the front of class, moving away from distractions), prioritized check-lists, and external reminders (e.g., phone reminders, planners, notes).

This project will examine an innovative community-based group treatment service delivery model developed to provide academic and vocational support for individuals with mild traumatic brain injury. This program included a 1.5 hour group session that met weekly for five consecutive weeks and was lead by a graduate student clinician and supervised by a licensed speech-language pathologist. Each weekly group session focused on a different module as follows: (1) eliminating external distractions, (2) interpersonal communication, (3) assistive technology, (4) memory and planning, and (5) advocating for themselves. A qualitative reflection of this program will be reported. Preliminary evaluation of this program focus on the graduate student and supervisor reflections, and an assessment of the content delivered in the weekly modules. These initial impressions will provide proof of concept for future educational groups and efficacy studies.

Category

Health and Medical Science

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Apr 28th, 11:00 AM Apr 28th, 12:00 PM

Initial Impressions of Educational Group Teaching Compensatory Strategies For Traumatic Brain Injury

UC South Ballroom

Patients who sustain a traumatic brain injury (TBI) experience chronic impairments of attention that can be devastating to participating in their daily lives. With 5.3 million Americans suffering from long-term effects of their injury, cognitive-communication therapy and rehabilitation following a TBI is vital for successful daily functioning in educational, vocational, and recreational contexts. Sustained attention is the ability to concentrate on a task for an extended period of time without being distracted. Sustained attention is required for many daily tasks, such as: participating in conversations, focusing during school, concentrating while driving, or reading a book. Sustained attention is commonly supported in therapy by training and implementing the use of compensatory strategies. Compensatory strategies include assistive technology, mnemonics, environmental placement (e.g., sitting at the front of class, moving away from distractions), prioritized check-lists, and external reminders (e.g., phone reminders, planners, notes).

This project will examine an innovative community-based group treatment service delivery model developed to provide academic and vocational support for individuals with mild traumatic brain injury. This program included a 1.5 hour group session that met weekly for five consecutive weeks and was lead by a graduate student clinician and supervised by a licensed speech-language pathologist. Each weekly group session focused on a different module as follows: (1) eliminating external distractions, (2) interpersonal communication, (3) assistive technology, (4) memory and planning, and (5) advocating for themselves. A qualitative reflection of this program will be reported. Preliminary evaluation of this program focus on the graduate student and supervisor reflections, and an assessment of the content delivered in the weekly modules. These initial impressions will provide proof of concept for future educational groups and efficacy studies.