Core Concepts in Neurorehabilitation SPCC
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Gordon Muir Giles, PhD, DipCOT, OTR/L, FAOTA, Series Senior Editor
Earn .7 AOTA CEUs (8.75 NBCOT PDUs/7 contact hours).
The AOTA Neurorehabilitation Self-Paced Clinical Course series is composed of this Core SPCC and 3 applied diagnosis-specific SPCCs: Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI), Stroke, and Dementia. The Core SPCC accentuates the principles that apply across any diagnosis groupings and is highly recommended that this course is completed first.
Lesson Highlights:
- Introduction to Core Concepts in Neurorehabilitation
- Neuroanatomy
- Core Concepts in Neurocognition
- Habit, Routine, and Context in Neurorehabilitation
- Psychosocial Practice Essentials in Neurorehabilitation: Stress, Coping, and Adaptation
Core SPCC is highly recommended as a prerequisite for all Diagnosis-Specfic SPCCs.
Learning Objectives
After reading this material and completing the examination, readers will be able to
- Recognize neuroanatomical systems that underlie key cognitive and functional processes;
- Recognize the clinical significance of underlying brain pathology secondary to traumatic brain injury (TBI), stroke, and dementia;
- Recognize the relationship between cognitive and functional deficits in TBI, stroke, and dementia;
- Recognize contemporary interventions for neurocognitive disorders;
- Identify methods for measuring cognitive and functional impairments in TBI, stroke, and dementia;
- Recognize how the development of habits reduces "cognitive load;"
- Identify and give examples of how changes in context can improve functional competencies in clients with TBI, stroke, or dementia;
- Recognize how the Occupational Therapy Practice Framework: Domain and Process expands the number of factors that can be considered in interventions for clients with TBI, stroke, dementia; and
- Recognize ways in which defense mechanisms and coping strategies may co-occur with neurological impairments.
Important Note: As of March 1, 2009, the registration process for the Colorado State University (CSU) Nondegree Graduate Credit will change. Click here for details.
Author Bios
Gordon Muir Giles, PhD, DipCOT, OTR/L, FAOTA, received a graduate diploma from St. Andrew's School of Occupational Therapy and a doctorate in clinical psychology from the California School of Professional Psychology. He was senior occupational therapist at the first program in the world specializing in the treatment of people with behavior disorders and brain injury. He has opened and directed specialized acute medical hospitals, long-term care, behavioral management, and outpatient programs for people with neurobehavioral impairments. He was responsible for opening the first county-funded neurobehavioral program for people with acquired neurological impairments in the western United States in 1993.
Dr. Giles introduced the "neurofunctional approach" in 1993 and recently has been developing nonaversive approaches to rehabilitation of people with neurological impairments. He is an internationally known researcher and has authored numerous publications, including three books, on practical approaches to treating people with acquired neurological impairments. He currently is responsible for a 65-bed neurobehavioral program in Fremont, CA, and a 120-bed medical/psychiatry program in Sunnyvale, CA. In addition to his clinical responsibilities, he is associate professor at Samuel Merritt College in Oakland, CA.
Fred Feuchter, PhD, received a doctorate in human anatomy from the University of Iowa School of Medicine. He has held faculty positions in anatomy at the University of Washington School of Medicine, the University of New Mexico School of Medicine, the University of California at San Francisco School of Medicine, and the University of California at Berkeley. He currently is professor of anatomy and interim chair in the Basic Sciences Department at Samuel Merritt College in Oakland, CA, where he teaches human anatomy and functional neurosciences. His research interests include development of computer interactive media for use in his courses and other training programs in the health sciences.
Linda L. Levy, MA, OTR/L, FAOTA, is associate professor of occupational therapy at Temple University, Philadelphia, and faculty associate at the Geriatric Education Center of Pennsylvania. She has extensive clinical experience in adult psychosocial dysfunction, gero-psychiatry, and geriatric rehabilitation, having directed occupational therapy programs at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania and the Philadelphia Psychiatric Center. She has published widely in the occupational therapy and rehabilitation literature and presented numerous workshops and seminars. She served as Health Systems Agency regional planner for mental health, developmental disabilities, and long-term care services for the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and was one of 16 nationally designated experts appointed to the Agency for Health Care Policy and Research Panel on Screening for Alzheimer's and Related Dementias by the Office of the Forum for Quality and Effectiveness in Health Care, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
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