This is a part of the Hot Topic podcast series from the Model Systems Knowledge Translation Center on Changes in Memory After TBI. Dr. Angelle Sander discusses The Challenge of Remembering Memory Strategies.

One of the mistakes that people generally make if they're teaching someone memory strategies after a traumatic brain injury is failing to consider that the memory problem itself will get in the way of them learning the strategy. So repetition is really important. It's very important to go over the strategy and not just assume that someone is going to pick up on it the first couple of times they see it or hear it.

So for example, if someone is using a memory notebook, it's important to go over with them the different sections of the notebook, and maybe that one section is a calendar and another section has phone numbers and another section has a list of things to do on different days. It's important to go over that sections and to talk to the person about what kinds of information they may want to write into each section.

And then review that with them a few different times. Have them repeat it back to you. And this doesn't all happen usually it one day. So it will usually happen over the course of several therapy sessions. It's also really important to not assume that the person will learn it in one setting and be able to apply it in another setting.

So it's really important to have people use the strategies in different settings, and if you as a therapist can't be with them in those different settings, then it's important to talk about what the demands are on them in their different settings and to help them to problem-solve how use of the strategy may be difficult in another setting other than where they're learning it.

Visit https://msktc.org/tbi and get the answers you need from experts who conduct innovative and high-quality research, provide patient care, and work to improve the health and overall quality of life for people with traumatic brain injury. That’s https://msktc.org/tbi.