Internal Memory Rehabilitation Strategies in the Context of Post-acute Brain Injury: A Pilot Study

Abstract

Memory impairments are one of the most common consequences of acquired brain injury. Poor memory can have a severe impact on a person’s daily functioning and his/her quality of life. While research provides some support for using external, compensatory strategies (e.g. diaries, lists, visual or electronic reminders), empirical evidence in favor of internal, restorative strategies (i.e. learning and training strategies that utilize less impaired or healthy cognitive resources to restore function) is much sparser. This study investigates the effects of a rehabilitation treatment comprised of internal strategies on the memory functioning of 11 participants with acquired brain injury associated memory impairments. The interventions utilized in this study included practicing visualization, first letter mnemonics, semantic clustering, elaborative encoding, and completing worksheets from Workbook of Activities for Language and Cognition (WALC 10 Memory). The Repeatable Battery for the Assessment of Neuropsychological Status (RBANS) was used for the pre- and post- treatment assessment of memory functioning. Treatment gains as measured by pre-post therapy RBANS differences suggested large memory improvements of a magnitude to suggest clinically meaningful gains. This study was limited by its sample size, absence of a control group, and use of only one outcome measure.