INTRODUCTION:
Accidents that result in traumatic brain injury (TBI) are acute medical events that may impact the community reintegration of survivors for months, years, or decades. Resulting post-concussive symptoms (PCS) include physical, mood, cognition, and sleep difficulties.
CASE PRESENTATION:
The present case study will follow survivors of chronic PCS, along with post-traumatic seizures, because of TBI that occurred over four decades ago. JaAc is a 65-year-old survivor of a football concussion experienced in adolescence and TiBo is a 60-year-old survivor of a motor vehicle accident. Both survivors are residents of the same assisted living program. Both are taking anticonvulsants to manage their epilepsy, and neither are taking nootropics.
MANAGEMENT AND OUTCOME:
Psychosocial assessments (e.g., OSU TBI ID, MMSE, FIM+FAM) were conducted prior to treatment. JaAc scored a 10 and TiBo scored an 8 on the MMSE, which is considered severe cognitive impairment. Both clients experience difficulties with anomia, reading, writing, and following commands over two-steps. Both survivors participated in virtually administered restorative cognitive rehabilitation in the individual format every day for 8-weeks: TiBo completed an Attention package and JaAc completed a Memory package (Brainwave-R).
DISCUSSION:
Both survivors received a head injury ICD-10 code (S06.XXXX), although TiBo did not lose consciousness; placing them on opposing ends of severity (mild versus severe) even though they both experience the same major neurocognitive disorder due to TBI (F02.80). Qualitative and quantitative insights were integrated to describe the benefits of a habilitation program that engages residents in cognitively stimulating activities and supportive psychosocial interactions
