Educational Therapy
Teaching Competency Skills for Life
This multifaceted program teaches patients crucial skills that may have been compromised due to brain injury. Following an injury, many people work to return to productivity either at their previous competency level or some modified version of it. Educational therapy builds capabilities that ease this return to life post rehabilitation. Since CNS concentrates on independence, our educational therapy encompasses life skills for safe living, self-care, and information comprehension and processing. Deficit reduction and competency enhancement help patients in these key areas:
- Reading for safe practices: medication warnings, signage, directions, important correspondence
- Relearning math to manage personal finances and exchange money correctly
- Writing skills to communicate, return to work, and interact with others
- Word comprehension and cognitive skills necessary to reintegrate in the community
- Speech proficiency, a crucial skill in reconnecting with the world after treatment
CNS’ in-depth approach combines these components into a focused, multidisciplinary therapy that offers both education and training in real-world settings. Therapists engage patients in classes held at each clinic, then encourage practice in supervised outings to stores, libraries, and appointments.
After a patient evaluation, the treatment plan is built around the deficits identified. Basic skills are the starting point, and hierarchal tasks are introduced and customized as patients progress. This individualized care includes identifying how the patient worked, lived, and used finances prior to the injury. Therapists then replicate the environment in educational practices.
As patients advance, they are encouraged to seek the next level of accomplishment according to their goals and capabilities. Filling out community forms may progress to writing essays. Math skills may evolve into managing family finances again. A spectrum of clinicians contribute to the education program, including the input of physical, occupational, speech, cognitive, and behavior therapists. As a team, they track progress and modify the treatment plan to fit each person’s needs. Embracing the skills learned in this therapy boosts confidence and self-esteem while improving the patient’s quality of life in the long term.
