Typical therapy approaches used for rehabilitation of adults with cognitive deficits due to brain injury or stroke target primary cognitive sub-skills (memory, orientation, attention, etc.) in isolation.  Therapy methods normally include tabletop activities, computer training and pencil/paper tasks to improve underlying cognitive impairment.  However, the learning associated with these methods does not always generalize to the world outside the clinic. Patients often become frustrated with their lack of progress or find themselves unable to perform necessary tasks once they return to their home environment.

• Examine a sequence of functional therapy activities to use with adults with cognitive deficits due to brain injury and stroke
• Plan therapy sessions that emphasize real-life tasks and move away from tabletop activities 
• Select meaningful therapy activities that match the patient's interest areas and occupations
• Evaluate abilities and document progress by considering performance of real-life tasks in natural environments
• Assess how to grade and adjust the therapy environment to accommodate various levels of cognitive deficits. 
• Develop realistic caregiver instructions that support the rehabilitative process in the home.
• Discover how this therapy approach can be applied by multiple disciplines

Course Instructor

Rob Koch, BS, OTR/L, is a licensed occupational therapist and has been in clinical practice for 28 years working with persons from birth to 96 presenting a diverse range of diagnoses.  He spent the first 11 years of his career in Utah working in developmental disabilities.   He specialized in adapting activities and learning environments for severely multiply handicapped individuals and also created several published software programs to provide these persons better opportunities to actively participate in learning.

For the past 17 years Mr. Koch has worked in inpatient and outpatient neurological rehabilitation at Carolinas Rehabilitation, where his occupational therapy practice includes assistive technology and driver evaluations for a diverse population of patients.  In the course of developing treatments for patients with brain injury, stroke and spinal cord, his scope of practice includes extensive emphasis on promoting the skilled use of functional therapy activities to optimize the independence of each patient. This focus resulted in the creation of “Functional Therapy Activities”, a CD-ROM for use in adult neurological rehabilitation. Over the past 4 years Mr. Koch has been developing a functional approach to improving the lives of patients with cognitive deficits due to brain injury and stroke, hence the idea for this seminar.  Mr. Koch has presented at many local and national conferences on such topics as Functional Cognitive Activities, Using Adapted Electronic Aids with Developmentally Disabled Persons, and Assistive Technology in Brain Injury Rehab. His knowledge and expertise helps make him a much sought after instructor.