Training Developed at Miami Helps Brain Injury Survivors Rehabilitate

Traumatic Brain Injuries (TBI) affect more than 2 million Americans each year. Over 75,000 TBI survivors have significant deficits that render them unable to return to their educational or vocational settings. The majority of the patients are young adults between the ages of 15 and 34. These patients receive extensive rehabilitation in the area of cognition, which includes categorization, memory, attention, and psychosocial training.

Fofi Constantinidou, Director of the NeuroCognitive Disorders Laboratory in the Department of Speech Pathology and Audiology at Miami University, and her students study the effects of neurological disease or injury to the brain. Through funding from the Centre for Neuro Skills in Bakersfield, Calif. and the Casa Colina Centers for Rehabilitation in Pomona, Calif., Dr. Constantinidou has led a team of researchers and clinicians and designed a clinical training tool, the Categorization Program, to improve cognitive abilities in survivors of brain injury.

Dr. Constantinidou collaborates with rehabilitation centers around the country to test the effectiveness of the Categorization Program. The Centre for Neuro Skills in Bakersfield, Calif., The Center for Comprehensive Services in Carbondale, Ill., Bancroft NeuroHealth in Haddonfield, N.J., and the Casa Colina Centers for Rehabilitation in Pomona, Calif. are participating in the trials. Preliminary results indicate that the training is effective in improving categorization abilities in patients with brain injury.

Dr. Constantinidou and her colleagues have received funding from the National Institutes of Health to expand the clinical trials and study this innovative therapy program more extensively. The hope is that this project will provide information that will enhance the rehabilitation process of survivors of TBI and improve their quality of life.