Practical Applications for Cognitive Impairment

About this Certificate Program

Working with individuals with cognitive impairments requires an additional set of skills, strategies, and interventions. This certificate program will provide an understanding of fundamental characteristics of cognitive impairment and the impact on behavior. We will explore how to overcome some of the barriers associated with cognitive impairment. Many of the strategies may be used during therapy sessions to increase focus and attention. Other strategies will be associated with longer-term interventions to improve cognition and learning new compensatory strategies, while other approaches are designed to maximize client motivation so they more fully engage the therapeutic process.

Target audience

This series is designed for physical therapists, speech-language pathologists, occupational therapists, nurses, and long-term care administrators working in hospitals, private practice, long-term care, skilled nursing facilities, and home care.

Goals & objectives

• Recall which types of memory will be impaired first and last with most types of dementia.

• Modify how feedback and instructions are given to patients based on working memory capacity and cognitive ability.

• Articulate interventions that can be used to enhance a patient’s interest, attention, and ability to encode new declarative memories.

• Administer cognitive rehabilitation interventions that exercise attention, word finding, and spatial abilities.

• Explain how to maximize motivation by using interventions that focus on self-efficacy and outcomes.