JasonE
13-05-2008, 09:49 AM
As a personal trainer, I've got a local rep for working successfully with clients suffering from a wide range of impairments. I don't do PT - don't have the training or licensure, and I refer out when PT or other medical care is called for.
Some of my clients suffer from traumatic brain injury. Their case histories are completely different, as are their signs and symptoms. It's fascinating and fun to work with them, as they need the help more than "normal" people, yet have the most difficulty finding trainers willing and able to provide the help they need.
Today I had the last training session with one of my clients. When we met, he couldn't stand still without constantly wavering and catching his balance. He couldn't walk a straight line. He avoided stairs like the plague. In short, his mind was 100%, but his motor control was hosed.
Now, roughly six months later, he can stand still, walk straight, almost always takes the stairs, often carries rather than uses his cane, and is working on one-legged balance drills and a variety of "normal" conditioning exercises/drills. Though he will never be "normal", his effective level of impairment in ADL has greatly improved.
The credit for all this improvement must go to my client. He showed up on time, paid attention, and worked his buns off to master each drill and exercise. Unlike most of my clients, he had the drive to do his assigned homework EVERY DAY and the results have been like night and day!! It was an honor to train him, and I was frequently astounded at what he was able to do from one week to the next.
I hope that more trainers venture to work with BI clients. Listen carefully, pay attention, be thoughtful, and work on developing skills that they really need on a daily basis. You will have to be creative and create stuff on the fly, but it is worth every drop of effort when you see how their lives change for the better!
Some of my clients suffer from traumatic brain injury. Their case histories are completely different, as are their signs and symptoms. It's fascinating and fun to work with them, as they need the help more than "normal" people, yet have the most difficulty finding trainers willing and able to provide the help they need.
Today I had the last training session with one of my clients. When we met, he couldn't stand still without constantly wavering and catching his balance. He couldn't walk a straight line. He avoided stairs like the plague. In short, his mind was 100%, but his motor control was hosed.
Now, roughly six months later, he can stand still, walk straight, almost always takes the stairs, often carries rather than uses his cane, and is working on one-legged balance drills and a variety of "normal" conditioning exercises/drills. Though he will never be "normal", his effective level of impairment in ADL has greatly improved.
The credit for all this improvement must go to my client. He showed up on time, paid attention, and worked his buns off to master each drill and exercise. Unlike most of my clients, he had the drive to do his assigned homework EVERY DAY and the results have been like night and day!! It was an honor to train him, and I was frequently astounded at what he was able to do from one week to the next.
I hope that more trainers venture to work with BI clients. Listen carefully, pay attention, be thoughtful, and work on developing skills that they really need on a daily basis. You will have to be creative and create stuff on the fly, but it is worth every drop of effort when you see how their lives change for the better!