Neurorehabilitation Concepts

Neurological Rehabilitation

• Rehabilitation aims to help disabled people cope independently with family, work, friends, and leisure.
• It focuses on restoring function and providing compensatory or adaptive strategies for any disability, regardless of cause.
• Rehabilitation is a process actively engaged in by the disabled person, aided by professionals.

Neurorehabilitation

• Neurorehabilitation restores function in people with neurological damage.
• It's a multidisciplinary approach using strategies to reduce disability and improve quality of life.

Rehabilitation Process Centered

• Persons/patients are central to the rehabilitation process.

Key Concepts of Neurorehabilitation

• Impairment: Alterations in anatomy or physiology (bodily structure or function).
• Disability: Functional consequences of impairment, leading to restrictions like walking or communicating.
• Handicap: Social context of disability, impacting social function (e.g., employment).

WHO's International Classification of Impairments, Disabilities and Handicaps (1980)

• Impairment: Loss or abnormality of psychological, physiological, or anatomical structure/function.
• Disability: Restriction or lack of activity due to impairment from normal performance (specific to age, sex, culture).
• Handicap: Disadvantage resulting from impairment/disability, limiting fulfilling a normal role.

International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health (ICF)

• ICF provides a framework for describing and organizing information on functioning and disability.
• It creates a standard language and basis for defining and measuring health and disability.

ICF Model

• Health condition: Disorder or disease.
• Body functions and structure: Physiological functions of body systems.
• Activity: Performing tasks and actions.
• Participation: Involvement in life situations.
• Environmental factors: Physical, social, and attitudinal environment.
• Personal factors: Individual's attributes such as beliefs, coping mechanisms, and emotions.

Example: Spinal Cord Injury (23-year-old)

• Body functions & structure: Loss of sensation below the waist, loss of lower limb movement.
• Activities: Limited daily living function, difficulty with self-care.
• Participation: Difficulty with social activities, struggling to study at school.
• Environmental factors: Needs barrier-free facilities and access to Rehabus.
• Personal factors: May need peer support and family assistance.

Using ICF Checklist

• User-friendly tool for eliciting and recording information about functioning and disability.
• Allows for identifying and qualifying individuals quickly and efficiently.
• Information suitable for case records (clinical practice or social work).

Medical Model of Disability

• Individualistic view: disability is a medical condition/disease specific to each individual.
• Focus on cure/treatment within the individual.
• Assumes disabled people are inherently biologically/psychologically inferior.
• Sees disability as a personal tragedy and victim.

Social Model of Disability

• Focuses on societal barriers: society creates obstacles for disabled people.
• Emphasizes attitudinal, sensory, architectural, and economic barriers alongside health barriers.
• Advocates for environmental adaptations for inclusion, participation, and equality.

Rehabilitation Process

• Active & dynamic process where disabled individuals are supported in acquiring knowledge, skills, maximizing physical, psychological, and social well-being.
• It's structured into three key areas: reducing disability, acquiring skills/strategies, and altering the environment (physical and social changes).

Neurological Rehabilitation

• A practical and common sense approach, using basic principles, knowledge of the natural history and associated symptoms of the cause of disability.

This quiz explores the key concepts and processes involved in neurological rehabilitation. It covers definitions and approaches to restoring function in individuals with disabilities caused by neurological damage. Test your understanding of impairment, disability, and the rehabilitation process.