Post‐traumatic Brain Injury

This chapter deals with management of the post-traumatic brain-injured person with specific reference to cognitive and behavioural aspects. The information is occupational therapy specific but is also relevant to the whole rehabilitation team as well as for families and carers of head-injured people. Although each individual who sustains a head injury is unique and therefore will need individual attention, the deficits which result and the most appropriate rehabilitation goals for head-injured people have a commonality and can be applied generally. Behavioural management begins once the person with traumatic brain injury (TBI) is able to focus, learn and put into practice the techniques taught to control behaviour. The cognitive impairments in a brain-injured client that are considered are those that become evident in hospital after coming out of a coma but which persist once the client has been discharged.