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OT + Neurological Rehabilitation
Clinician working with brain injuries and/or neurology? A forum to learn from and share recommendations!
Dear all,
I have largely worked within brain injury and neurorehabilitation since 2020 and find this specialism fascinating. Neurology is a complex, challenging - but highly interesting and rewarding - area of practice. There is constantly something new to learn; I know OT practitioners around the world have valuable insights to share. So I am keen for them to contribute to this knowledge bank. Do you work supporting any of the following?...
Stroke
Brain tumour
Traumatic brain injury (TBI)
Anoxic brain injury
Spinal cord injury (SCI)
Infection (e.g. encephalitis)
Congenital or progressive neurological conditions
All ideas and suggestions are welcome, including:
Motor, sensory, visual or cognitive assessments
Structured interventions, including upper limb programmes
Tried-and-tested outcome measurement
Relevant research, or general reading recommendations
With a person-centred approach, clearly no one method fits all. But what has worked well in your practice experience?
N.B. Please be mindful of patient confidentiality
Hi there Charlotte. Your inpatient neuro rehab unit sounds like one I used to work in... Assessments for any particular domain of practice (physical, affect or cognitive)? A few worth looking up:
Physical: Fugl Meyer Upper Extremity (FM-UE), Chedoke Arm and Hand Activity Inventory (CAHAI)
Affect: PHQ-9, GAD-7
Cognitive: Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA), Repeatable Battery for the Assessment of Neuropsychological Status (RBANS)
Mixed: Functional Independence Measure/Functional Assessment Measure (FIM-FAM)
In terms of texts, I found Occupational Therapy and Stroke (edited by Judi Edmans et al) very easy to pick up and read... In terms of advice, there's loads - but my main point would be, take your time to absorb and observe. Neurology is vast; OTs who have worked in it for decades are still learning. So don't expect to know everything in your initial years qualified. Good luck!