Question

Describe how you would support a client with acquired brain injury who demonstrated cognitive deficits as a result of their injury. Identify a minimum of 2 possible problems you might encounter and what positive intervention strategies you would use to help the person

Answer 1

1) Ans) Brain injury, also called acquired brain injury, is any damage to the brain affecting a person physically, emotionally or behaviorally. Brain injuries can happen at birth, or later, from an illness or a trauma, and are called either traumatic or non-traumatic, depending on the specific cause.

An acquired brain injury (ABI) is the result of damage to your brain that may occur at any time during your life. An ABI can cause many different problems for the person affected. It is different from an intellectual disability or a mental illness.

Cognitive deficits are major sequelae of acquired brain injury and have an adverse impact on function and rehabilitation. Cognitive changes vary and depend on many factors which include an individual's personality, pre- injury abilities, and the severity of the brain damage.
Cognitive impairment may reduce the ability of a person to adequately process and interpret information, leading to abnormal behaviors, mood disturbances, and dysfunctional adaptive strategy formation.

The possible problem which can be encountered with this patient are

Sleep disturbances Insomnia, fatigue and sleepiness are the most frequent complaints after head injury.

. Sleep disturbancescan occur because of the alteration in the brain function because of the injury. The person can be helped by

Providing a calm and quiet environment to relax and induce sleep

Going to bed and getting up at the same time every day, including weekends.

Avoiding caffeine, alcohol, and nicotine.

Getting some exercise and sunshine every day to help reset your internal clock.

Resting during the day, but not napping for more than 20 minutes.

Administer medications as per order to have a good sleep pattern and improve the quality of sleep

Encouraging to take a luke warm shower in the evening and avoiding late night foods can improve circulation and uninterrupted sleep in night respectively

Aggression : Anger is an important clinical problem after brain injury . They experience symptoms, ranging from irritability to aggressive outbursts, that are identified as new or worse since the injury

, anger is a most common problem which can encountered for first few period of time after recovering

Administer antianxiety medication as per order to relieve anxiety

Avoid triggers that can make the patient anger and lead to emotional outbursts

Provide a safe environment because the risk for self injury and injuries to others are possible

Difficulty in making decisions

Explain all the proedure and treatment to gain confidence, hope and understanding

Explain one thing at a time ,thos helps to develop focused attention

Avoid external disturbances like background noise, while communicating to the patient