Behavior can be affected by a brain injury in many ways, creating challenges for the individual receiving the injury as well as for loved ones and family. The role of the behavior analyst can often make a difference in recovery because behavioral strategies can address many of the different facets that enhance better outcomes.

Thinking Changes

• Memory
• Decision Making and Planning
• Sequencing and Organization
• Judgment
• Attention and Perception
• Communication
• Reading and Writing Skills
• Thought Processing Speed
• Problem Solving Skills
• Self-Perception
• Thought Flexibility
• Safety Awareness
• New Learning

Physical Changes

• Muscle Movement and Coordination
• Sleep
• Hearing, Vision, Taste, Smell, Touch
• Fatigue
• Weakness
• Balance
• Speech
• Seizures
• Sexual Functioning

Behavioral

• Social Skills
• Emotional Control and Mood Swings
• Appropriateness of Behavior (Self-Monitoring Remarks & Actions)
• Reduced Self-Esteem
• Depression (Agitated Type)*
• Anxiety & Frustration
• Stress
• Denial
• Self-Centeredness
• Anger Management
• Coping Skills
• Motivation
• Irritability or Agitation
• Excessive Laughing or Crying

Right-Side Brain Injury and Behavior Changes

• Visual-Spatial Impairment
• Visual Memory Deficits
• Left-Side Neglect
• Decreased Awareness of Deficits
• Altered Creativity and Music Perception
• Loss of “The Big Picture” Type of Thinking
• Decreased Control Over Left-Sided Body Movements

Left-Side Brain Injury and Behavior Changes

• Difficulties in Understanding Language (Receptive)
• Difficulties in Speaking or Verbal Output (Expressive)
• Catastrophic Reactions (Depression/Anxiety)
• Verbal Memory Deficits
• Impaired Logic
• Sequencing Difficulties
• Decreased Control Over Right-Sided body Movements

Diffuse (Left/Right) Brain Injury and Behavior Changes

• Reduced Thinking Speed
• Confusion
• Reduced Attention and Concentration
• Fatigue
• Impaired Cognitive Skills in All Areas

Recovering from a brain injury requires a team of dedicated professionals skilled in brain injury rehabilitation. From acute care to vocational training and community integration, rehabilitation is pivotal for individuals to achieve the best outcome and recovery.

It is not uncommon for individuals to display a variety of challenging behavioral problems that interfere with rehabilitation, which include agitation, aggression, hostility, as well as depression, loss of motivation, and emotional dysregulation. When these behavioral problems are present, rehabilitation is frequently delayed or postponed indefinitely, which impedes full recovery.

Applied Behavior Analysis has been used in the treatment of these interfering behaviors so that effective rehabilitation can be resumed and bringing hope to the individual and his or her loved ones. Additionally, applied behavior analysis has been used to teach individuals to act upon his or her world more effectively. Among the techniques include Errorless Learning, Shaping and Fading, Fluency, and Precision Teaching.

Skill Acquisitionand Brain Injury

Following a brain injury, an individual may need to acquire lost activities of daily living, academic skills, community skills, or social skills. For decades, applied behavior analysis has provided skill acquisition and teaching techniques to enhance greater independence and quality of life. The literature generated in this area is immense and points to successes in areas never before achieved in education.

Applied behavior analysis has utilized procedures generated from the laboratory and translated into practice:

• Errorless Teaching
• Matching-to-sample
• Fluency and Precision Teaching
• Behavioral Momentum
• Shaping, Fading, Prompting, & Modeling

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