TY - JOUR
T1 - Rationale and description of BrainLevel
T2 - Computerized repeated practice with strategy use instruction for children with acquired brain injury
AU - Resch, Christine
AU - Hurks, Petra
AU - de Kloet, Arend
AU - van Heugten, Caroline
N1 - Funding Information:
The author(s) disclosed receipt of the following financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article: The development of the interventin was funded by Johanna Kinderfonds (Project ID: 2014/0039-1552), Cornelia-Stichting (Project ID: 2014/0039-1552), and Stichting Rotterdams Kinderrevalidatie Fonds Adriaanstichting (Project ID: 14.09.30-2014/0039).
Publisher Copyright:
© The Author(s) 2021.
PY - 2021/6
Y1 - 2021/6
N2 - OBJECTIVE: In this paper, we provide the rationale behind and a description of BrainLevel, a new cognitive rehabilitation intervention for children with acquired brain injury.RATIONALE: Children with acquired brain injury frequently report cognitive problems and consequently problems in participation, psychosocial functioning, family functioning and quality of life. Computerized repeated practice of specific cognitive tasks (so-called 'brain training') improves performance on those specific or highly similar tasks, but rarely leads to better daily life functioning. Adding strategy use instruction as an intervention component, with the aim to transfer task-specific effects to other contexts, may yield positive effects on cognitive and daily life functioning of children with acquired brain injury.DESCRIPTION OF THE NEW INTERVENTION: In BrainLevel, computerized repeated practice is offered via the online training programme BrainGymmer. For the strategy use instruction, we developed a protocol to provide and practice function-specific and metacognitive strategies. The intervention period is 6 weeks, during which children train five times per week for 30 minutes per day at home with BrainGymmer. Additionally, they attend a weekly 45-minute strategy use instruction session on the basis of our protocol with a cognitive rehabilitation specialist.DISCUSSION: BrainLevel is innovative in combining computerized repeated practice with strategy use instruction as cognitive rehabilitation for children with acquired brain injury. Currently, we are investigating the effectiveness of BrainLevel. In this paper, possible adaptations to tailor BrainLevel to other games or contexts, or to incorporate novel scientific insights, for example regarding optimal intervention duration and intensity, are discussed.
AB - OBJECTIVE: In this paper, we provide the rationale behind and a description of BrainLevel, a new cognitive rehabilitation intervention for children with acquired brain injury.RATIONALE: Children with acquired brain injury frequently report cognitive problems and consequently problems in participation, psychosocial functioning, family functioning and quality of life. Computerized repeated practice of specific cognitive tasks (so-called 'brain training') improves performance on those specific or highly similar tasks, but rarely leads to better daily life functioning. Adding strategy use instruction as an intervention component, with the aim to transfer task-specific effects to other contexts, may yield positive effects on cognitive and daily life functioning of children with acquired brain injury.DESCRIPTION OF THE NEW INTERVENTION: In BrainLevel, computerized repeated practice is offered via the online training programme BrainGymmer. For the strategy use instruction, we developed a protocol to provide and practice function-specific and metacognitive strategies. The intervention period is 6 weeks, during which children train five times per week for 30 minutes per day at home with BrainGymmer. Additionally, they attend a weekly 45-minute strategy use instruction session on the basis of our protocol with a cognitive rehabilitation specialist.DISCUSSION: BrainLevel is innovative in combining computerized repeated practice with strategy use instruction as cognitive rehabilitation for children with acquired brain injury. Currently, we are investigating the effectiveness of BrainLevel. In this paper, possible adaptations to tailor BrainLevel to other games or contexts, or to incorporate novel scientific insights, for example regarding optimal intervention duration and intensity, are discussed.
KW - Cognitive rehabilitation
KW - metacognition
KW - training
KW - traumatic brain injury
KW - adolescence
U2 - 10.1177/0269215521989652
DO - 10.1177/0269215521989652
M3 - Article
C2 - 33517763
SN - 0269-2155
VL - 35
SP - 787
EP - 800
JO - Clinical Rehabilitation
JF - Clinical Rehabilitation
IS - 6
M1 - 0269215521989652
ER -