Rehabilitation
At Home Rehabilitation Exercises
Last Updated:
LEVEL 1 - Place two different cards from a deck of playing cards face up on a table and allow the student to view the cards for 5 seconds. Turn the cards face down. Ask the student to point to the cards as they are named (“Point to the ace.”). Periodically ask for a card that was not among those shown. Increase the number of cards to a maximum of 5 as the student progresses.
LEVEL 2 - Select identical cards from two decks of cards to form two pair (for example, two king of spades, two nine of diamonds). Place the cards face up in front of the student for 5 seconds and then turn the cards face down. Ask the student to match the cards by turning over two at a time. If a match is not successful, turn the cards face down again in the array. Keep repeating until the student gets the correct pairings. Remove correctly paired cards from the array.
LEVEL 3 - Increase the number of card pairings to three with a challenge to the student to minimize the number of turns before the table is empty of cards. Remember to remove cards when correctly paired. Keep increasing the number of pairings to a maximum of 15 pairs as the student progresses. Increase the time to view the cards face up before matching begins by 5 seconds for each additional pairing (for example 6 pairs are allotted 30 seconds of viewing time).
LEVEL 4 - Same as Level 3 except that viewing of the cards face up is not allowed. The game begins with the instructor distributing the cards in an array (with columns and rows) face down. Assist the student in developing a strategy for turning over the cards (such as beginning with the corners) and remembering the position of the cards (such as rehearsing verbally). This can be very challenging. The student may do better with just a few cards initially.
LEVEL 5 - Select four cards in sequence (for example the 3, 4, and 5 of clubs) and place in random order face up in front of the student. After five seconds turn the cards face down. Ask the student to turn the cards over in sequence (3, then 4, then 5). Turn the card back over if an incorrect choice is made. Increase the number of cards in the sequence, allowing one more second of view time for each card added, to a maximum of 7 cards.
LEVEL 6 - Whenever you park your vehicle in a large parking lot, ask the student to remember where the vehicle has been parked. Emphasize the use of strategies, such as things located near the vehicle (such as a tree or a marker of some kind), as well as the position of the vehicle in the parking lot (for example, to the right side and towards the back).
LEVEL 7 - While walking through a grocery store or department store identify 2 or 3 food items or pieces of merchandise. Go to the front of the store and ask the student to locate the items that had been identified. Increase the number of items up to 7. Allow the student to write down the items (but not the location!) if necessary.
Taken from Tasks for Home-Based Cognitive Stimulation Program, the Traumatic Brain Injury Model System at the University of Alabama at Birmingham, Dept. of P M & R, Birmingham, AL. © 1998-2003 University of Alabama at Birmingham