Optimizing Cognitive Rehabilitation Effective Instructional Methods

Rehabilitation professionals face a key challenge when working with clients with acquired cognitive impairments: how to teach new skills to individuals who have difficulty learning. Unique in its focus, this book presents evidence-based instructional methods specifically designed to help this population learn more efficiently. The expert authors show how to develop, implement, and evaluate an individualized training plan. They provide practical guidelines for teaching multistep procedures, cognitive strategies, the use of external aids, and more. User-friendly features include 17 sample worksheets and forms; blank forms can be downloaded and printed in a convenient 8 1/2" x 11" size (www.guilford.com/p/sohlberg3). This book will be important reading for neuropsychologists, clinical psychologists, speech-language pathologists, occupational therapists, and other rehabilitation professionals. It may also serve as a text in graduate-level courses.

McKay Moore Sohlberg, PhD, CCC-SLP, is Full Professor at the University of Oregon, in Eugene, where she directs the master\u2019s and PhD training programs in Communication Disorders and Sciences. She is widely known for her pioneering work in the field of cognitive rehabilitation, having authored numerous journal articles, two leading texts in the field, and a number of widely used evidence-based clinical programs. Her research focuses on the development and evaluation of methods to manage acquired deficits in attention, memory, and executive functions. Dr. Sohlberg is supported by a number of federal grants to develop and evaluate assistive technology for individuals with cognitive impairment. She has been active at the national level in the development of evidence-based practice guidelines for cognitive rehabilitation. Lyn S. Turkstra, PhD, CCC-SLP, is Associate Professor at the University of Wisconsin–Madison, where she directs the Communication and Cognition Laboratory. She is known internationally for her research on cognitive–communication disorders in adolescents and adults with traumatic brain injury (TBI) and has published numerous articles in this area. Her research aims to advance understanding of the cognitive basis of communication problems in individuals with brain injury, particularly in relation to social communication. Dr. Turkstra is board certified by the Academy of Neurologic Communication Disorders and Sciences. She is the lead author of national evidence-based practice guidelines for assessment of individuals with cognitive–communication disorders after TBI and has been active in the development of guidelines for cognitive rehabilitation and interdisciplinary collaboration.

I. Foundations 1. Introduction and Overview 2. The Research Evidence 3. The Learning Context: Beyond Practice (What They Didn\u2019t Teach You in Graduate School), with Rik Lemoncello and Eva van Leer 4. The Training Framework: Plan, Implement, and Evaluate (PIE) II. The Training Procedures 5. Training Facts and Concepts 6. Training Functional Multistep Routines 7. Training the Use of External Cognitive Aids 8. Training the Use of Metacognitive Strategies 9. Training Social Skills Conclusion: Now What?