Training sensory awareness and spatial organization in people with right brain damage

Abstract

Building on a methodology to improve scanning and academic skill performance behavior in persons with acquired right brain damage due to stroke, this study presents 2 additional treatment methods: training in sensory awareness and spatial organization. The 53 patients studied were divided into two groups, experimental (N = 30) and control (N = 23). The experimental group received a treatment program incorporating the 2 new methods as well as a condensed version of the original program. The controls received standard rehabilitation. Both groups were retested after 1 month. Analyses revealed that the performance of those in the experimental group exceeded that of the controls, that those patients in the experimental group with severe impairments improved more than those with mild impairments, and that combined multiple-treatment produces greater generalization than the original single treatment program.