Interventions that Work for Young Children with TBI
- Keep a positive attitude about the child’s long term healing and growth of skills.
- Help children learn to use and maintain good patterns of behavior.
- This is especially important for children who are challenged with impulsivity and have difficulty learning from feedback or consequences.
- These children tend to make the most progress using errorless learning and positive habits to maintain daily routines.
- Adjust the environment to support the child's successfull behavior.
- Deliver interventions and supports within the child’s daily routines, using familiar people and support staff.
- Work to assure collaboration among support staff: Help staff understand that they are working together to provide a net of support, rather than a single person being responsible.
- Work with the child by giving choices and support. This will help develop executive functions. These skills must be taught from the earliest age possbile for the child to build necessary abilities.
- After identifying the needs of the child and family, generate several interventions to try, rather than depending on a single one.
- Work with the family as partners to address the child’s needs.
- Provide the family with a problem-solving approach to address the multiple challenges they are likely to meet. Families or other caregivers of children with TBI face multiple and ongoing stresses that are greater than families of children with other disabilities.
- It is likely that interventions will need to be reevaluated and adjusted frequently.
"Feeney T.J. & Ylvisaker, M.,(2008). Context sensitive cognitive-behavioral supports for young children with TBI: A second replication study. Journal of Positive Behavioral Interventions, Vol. 10 (2) 115–128.
Wade, S., Michaud, L., Maines Brown, T. (2006). Putting the pieces together: Preliminary efficacy of a family problem-solving intervention for children with traumatic brain injury. Journal of Head Trauma Rehabilitation, 21 (1) 57–67."
Adapted from:
Feeney T.J. & Ylvisaker, M.,(2008). Context sensitive cognitive-behavioral supports for young children with TBI: A second replication study. Journal of Positive Behavioral Interventions, Vol. 10 (2) 115–128.
Wade, S., Michaud, L., Maines Brown, T. (2006). Putting the pieces together: Preliminary efficacy of a family problem-solving intervention for children with traumatic brain injury. Journal of Head Trauma Rehabilitation, 21 (1) 57–67.
