Full Description
This manual explains five factors that contribute to a student's unawareness after acquired brain injury. It shows how to work with the student by using awareness activities consistently over time. Awareness exercises show how to:
- build student’s awareness of how things are going at school
- understand effects of brain injury on school work and peers
- develop adaptive strategies with teachers.
This manual explains the causes of unawareness and gives practical suggestions and worksheets for working with students in middle, junior high and high school.
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Details
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| Item | AWARE |
| ISBN# | 1-931117-09-8 |
| Pages | 28 pages, 7 x 8½ softcover |
| Year | 1999 |
Contents
About the AuthorsIntroduction to Changes in Awareness
Sources of Unawareness
What to do... and not to do
Program to Increase Awareness
Awareness Exercise 1
Awareness Exercise 2
Awareness Exercise 3
Awareness Exercise 4
Conclusion
References
Resources
Excerpts
Introduction to Changes in Awareness
He doesn’t think anything has changed.
She gets angry when I point out how she has changed since her brain injury.
I just don’t know how to get through to him.
No matter what I say or do, she just doesn’t seem to get it.
These comments describe the frustrations so often experienced by parents and educators when a student has a brain injury. Some students may not recognize that the brain injury has resulted in changed abilities and created new needs for assistance. It is hard for parents and educators to help if the student believes that nothing is wrong.
Adolescence is rarely easy for anyone, including parents and educators. The major goal of adolescence is the development of an individual identity independent of parents. This is even more challenging for students who have brain injuries and are in middle, junior high or high school. They may become more dependent at a time when they are trying to establish their autonomy.
When students with brain injuries are unaware, or have inaccurate perceptions of changes in cognitive, physical, and sensory abilities, educators are challenged to help them. It may mean that a student is not willing to accept special accommodations or adopt compensatory learning aids. Decreased awareness of needs and difficulties may also prevent a student from setting realistic academic or vocational goals. Awareness can be especially problematic for students who are injured in middle or high school, since these students are already dealing with the many challenges of adolescence.
The good news is that accommodations and/or interventions can help build awareness. The first step is understanding the origins of altered awareness. The next step is to select the most appropriate strategy to facilitate increased insight or awareness. This manual describes the most common causes of changes in awareness and explains how educators can help the student with a brain injury, who is not fully aware of changes in abilities and functioning.