<<
>>

Memory Impairment

Memory impairment is another common area of con­cern after pediatric TBI. Typically, the memory impair­ment that is seen is for the formation of new memories as opposed to long-term memory.

This has significant implications for a child’s ability to learn new informa­tion. As observed in other areas, severity of memory impairment appears to be related to the overall sever­ity of injury. Impairment is seen in both immediate and delayed recall in severe TBI (139-142). When evaluating preschool children who had experienced TBI, Anderson et al. (141) found that over time, chil­dren did show developmental progress in their memory skills; however, children with more severe TBI did less well over time. They saw this trend as well for both the learning and memory measures that they evalu­ated. It has been reported that verbal memory is more impaired than visual memory after TBI in children and that unstructured retrieval is the most impaired aspect of memory (143). Memory impairment is a challeng­ing deficit to attempt to address during rehabilitation. Different approaches include trying to improve recall through memory practice, using organizational strate­gies or mnemonics, using teaching techniques to make learning more efficient (including backward chaining), or making use of compensatory techniques such as a memory notebook or electronic device (142,144,145). Avoiding purely verbal teaching, making use of struc­tured activities in teaching, and increased repetition have been advocated as well (143).

<< | >>
Source: Alexander M.A., Matthews D.J.. Pediatric Rehabilitation: Principles and Practice. 4 th. åd. — New York: Demos Medical Publishing,2010. — 540 ð.. 2010
More medical literature on Medic.Studio

More on the topic Memory Impairment:

  1. TECHNICAL FACTORS OF NEEDLE ELECTROMYOGRAPHY
  2. PEARLS AND PERILS
  3. REVIEW OF FORENSIC ASSESSMENT INSTRUMENTS