This is a part of podcast series from the Model Systems Knowledge Translation Center on Disorders of Consciousness. Physical Therapist Beth Hansen explains the vital role families play in helping communication emerge for people recovering from a disorder of consciousness. 

Families are so important in pulling communication out of these folks. Often these patients don't know who we are. We're unfamiliar … the sound of our voice, our faces. And so families have a big role to play in being able to get behavior out of patients that maybe we wouldn't because we're so unfamiliar. And they can come to therapy, and they can participate and really help us to see the behaviors that they might see when they're here on visiting hours and not doing a therapy time. And when we do see those consistent, reliable behaviors with families, we can try to capitalize on that and see what we can do. 

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