The Efficacy of Early Rehabilitation after Traumatic Brain Injury

This thesis evaluated the efficacy and feasibility of delivering activities of daily living skills retraining during posttraumatic amnesia following traumatic brain injury compared to commencing this retraining following emergence from posttraumatic amnesia. The group receiving the treatment showed greater improvements in functional independence over time and the intervention delivered did not increase levels of agitated behaviour during posttraumatic amnesia. Goal attainment for those receiving the treatment also showed positive outcomes of the intervention. Therapist perspectives of delivering the intervention were explored. Overall, the study indicated benefits of commencing manualised skills retraining during posttraumatic amnesia following traumatic brain injury.