Military & Veterans[Dr. Kristen Maisano] When setting goals, we look at a couple of different ways to say that we achieved a goal. So achieving a goal might mean being able to utilize compensatory strategies, such as an iPad or iPhone for memory, and we consider that person "modified independent" because they are able to be independent with this device just like if you had a knee replacement and you needed a walker to walk. You can walk independently, but it's modified because it's a walker. So when we're setting goals, we're looking at basically two different sets of theory. We're looking at compensatory strategies, so we're not really fixing the problem. We're kind of using strategies to go around the problem to get the occupation or the activity done in a manner that suits the person's needs. Or we're looking a re-mediating the situation or rehabilitating the situation so we can form new neural pathways, and we can energize the brain a little bit and get it back to where it was before.
Posted on BrainLine May 15, 2013.
About the author: Kristen Maisano, OTD
Kristen Maisano, OTD is an occupational therapist and the interim director of Rehabilitation Services for the Traumatic Brain Injury Clinic, Fort Belvoir Community Hospital in Virginia. She specializes in evaluating and treating military patients with traumatic brain injuries.
Produced by Victoria Tilney McDonough and Erica Queen, BrainLine.