The Importance of Mental Stimulation in Post-Acute Rehabilitation from Traumatic and Mild Brain Injuries

Acute care and short term needs must immediately be addressed following any traumatic or mild brain injury. Thereafter, post-acute rehabilitation is needed. The innovative post-acute rehabilitation rendered by NeuLife Rehab in Mount Dora, Florida is second to none. It rehabilitates individuals and allows them to regain independence to the fullest extent that their physical and mental abilities allow.

The very first step toward rehabilitation is determining whether a brain injury has occurred and, if so, it’s severity. A traumatic brain injury is an alteration in the normal function of the brain.

Next, it is important to determine the site of the brain trauma. Sometimes, this can be done in the acute phase of care, however, the full range of the trauma is not always evident, especially in cases of multiple traumas. In those cases, it may require a multidisciplinary team such as that at NeuLife Rehab to make that determination.

The location and severity of the traumatic or mild brain injury will dictate several things, including:

• The individual’s short-term needs
• The individual’s long-term needs
• Whether behavioral changes may be anticipated
• Whether cognitive deficits may be anticipated
• Anticipated neurologic or neuropsychological challenges
• The regimen of innovative post-acute care that would be most helpful to the individual in regaining independence.

Accordingly, when an individual becomes a Client of NeuLife Rehab, he or she undergoes an independent functional evaluation by a multidisciplinary team that may include:

• Board Certified Neurologist
• Board Certified Behavior Analyst
• Board Certified Physiatrist
• Neuropsychologist
• Psychologist
• Board Certified Psychiatrist
• Speech Language Pathologist/Cognitive Therapist
• Physical Therapist
• Occupational Therapist
• Nurses
• Certified Rehab Counselor

The results of the independent functional evaluation form the basis of a Client Goal Plan for each Client. The Client Goal Plan is implemented by NeuLife Rehab’s multidisciplinary team of professionals. The goal is the attainment of independence for each of our Clients to the fullest extent of his or her physical and mental abilities.

The rehabilitation of individuals who have sustained traumatic or mild brain injuries often involves exercises to stimulate and to improve “working memory.” Working memory is sometimes confused with short term memory. Short term memory is also called “primary memory” or “active memory.” The terms refer to the ability to retain a small amount of data for a short period and are directly distinguishable from long term memory. In contrast, “working memory” refers not just to the ability to retain data, but also to manipulate it while, for example, undertaking another task.

An example of the kind of innovative rehabilitation employed by NeuLife Rehab in Mount Dora, Florida to stimulate and improve a Client’s working memory ability can be illustrated by a seemingly basic card game. In reality, for the Client who has had a traumatic brain injury, it is not so basic. Here’s why:

• The Client first has to learn the rules of the game. Although initially, the Client may need prompts by the therapist to remember the rules, an achievement on the Client Goal Plan would be for him or her to advance in the game to the point that prompts are no longer needed.
• Thereafter, conversation with the therapist may be injected into the card game, thereby, the Client is stimulated to keep up with the card game and with the conversation. The goal is to keep up with both.
• The task can be made even more challenging by the therapist requesting the NeuLife Rehab Client to also keep track of time, such as by stating when 25 minutes have elapsed from the start of the card game and conversation. In these circumstances, the Client is required to manipulate the rules of the card game, maintain the conversation, and keep track of time.
• Activity of this kind stimulates the Client’s ability to recall and to execute multiple tasks at once, which is called “divided attention.” It is a skill required by our Clients in their advancement toward independence.

There are many other modalities of therapeutic mental stimulation used by the Clients of NeuLife Rehab in Mount Dora, Florida as part of their Client Goal Plans. These include those that center upon:

• Attention and Focus
• Hand-Eye Coordination
• Problem Solving
• Processing Numbers
• Visual-Spatial

NeuLife Rehab consistently provides the highest standard of care in the delivery of clinically relevant services to achieve successful, sustained outcomes and exceeds the expectations of all persons served. Our philosophy of that healing, wellness and personal fulfillment are best accomplished in an uplifting therapeutic environment where caring staff encourage, assist and support each Client so he or she may achieve specific goals. NeuLife Rehab believes personal fulfillment is equally as important as goals to increase function and independence.

Proper and timely post-acute rehabilitation that may determine the difference between disability and independence is what NeuLife refers to as the “platinum post-acute period” —  the crucial window following acute care that is needed to nurture the whole person to health with specialized, clinically relevant services.

NeuLife’s philosophy is that healing, wellness and personal fulfillment are best achieved in a positive and uplifting therapeutic environment where caring staff encourages, assists and supports each client so he or she may achieve specific goals. NeuLife believes personal fulfillment is equally as important as goals to achieve function and independence.

NeuLife, in Mount Dora, Florida, is an accessible residential post-acute program providing specialized rehabilitation to individuals diagnosed with Traumatic Brain Injury
(TBI), Spinal Cord Injury (SCI), Amputations, Burns and other Catastrophic Injuries and Challenging Diagnoses.

2725 Robie Avenue

Mount Dora, Florida 32757