Rehabilitation
At Home Rehabilitation Exercises
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14- Physical Exercise
LEVEL 1 - Take a walk in the yard or through a park. (This can be done at any level of recovery if the person is physically able.) Engage casually in conversation about the things you encounter or see during the walk. Ask the student periodically what you saw or spoke of 2 to 3 minutes ago.
LEVEL 2 - Ask the student to tell you where you started the walk and what you talked about during the walk. Ask for an estimate of how long you have been walking and how far you have come (quarter mile, half mile, etc.). Have the student tell you how to get back. Can he or she find the way?
LEVEL 3 - Scheduled physical exercises. Help the student make up a daily schedule that includes physical exercises. For the scheduled exercise time, have the student prepare a list of exercises that will be done each time. A physical or occupational therapist with whom the student has worked may be able to provide some ideas. Encourage the student to follow the written list as well as to recall it and anticipate which exercise comes next. Include easy and fun competitions, such as playing “HORSE” with a basketball or counting the number of dribbles with a ball (both hands, left hand, right hand).
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