Cognitive rehabilitation therapy of brain-injured students in a public high school setting

Cognitive rehabilitation therapy is a systematic effort to assist brain damaged individuals in developing ways to compensate for cognitive deficits. Although this treatment is considered standard in a field of rehabilitation, access to services is limited by the availability of specialists. A model for bringing cognitive rehabilitation techniques to children with acquired brain injury within their own school setting is presented. A convenience sample of 10 public high school students with acquired brain injury received biweekly cognitive rehabilitation sessions for 20 weeks. Treatment was based on a developmental model of brain functioning. Treatments were provided by trained school teachers under the supervision of psychologists specializing in cognitive rehabilitation. Students were evaluated pre- and post-treatment using neuropsychological tests. After treatment, the students demonstrated a significant increase in general memory ability (p < 0.05). These gains were due mostly to increases in verbal learning ability. Integration of cognitive rehabilitation therapy with public school services is a significant step in providing this valuable treatment to a wider range of children with acquired brain injury.