Errorless (re)learning of daily living routines by a woman with impaired memory and initiation: transferrable to a new home?

PRIMARY OBJECTIVE

To use errorless learning to train a memory- and initiation-impaired woman on two activities of daily living routines and then to transfer these routines to a new home.

RESEARCH DESIGN

Single case quasi-experimental.

METHODS AND PROCEDURES

Over 9 months, a young woman with an anterior cerebral haemorrhagic stroke (secondary to a ruptured arteriovenous malformation) was trained on routines of morning self-care and diabetes management, involving extensive practice on a structured series of steps with intervention as needed to prevent errors. Once routines were established, family members were trained in the supervision and rating of the routines at home. Following discharge, caregivers continued to monitor the routines daily for 3 months.

MAIN OUTCOMES

Errorless learning of self-care and diabetes routines was successful. The routines were transferred to a new home environment and maintained at a near perfect level over a 3-month follow-up period. The patient remained severely memory-impaired, indicating that her functional gains were not attributable to any recovery of her memory abilities over time.

CONCLUSIONS

This case offers evidence that even people with severe memory and initiation impairments can be trained on new routines using errorless learning and that, once learned, these routines can be carried out in novel contexts.