Wheelchair transfer training for right cerebral dysfunctions: an interdisciplinary approach.

A 44-year-old patient with cerebrovascular accident and resulting total occlusion of the right internal carotid artery and severe cognitive impairments was seen as an inpatient. Impulsivity, general inattention, left side neglect, decreased concentration and visual-spatial-perceptual difficulties were clinically evident. A conventional approach to training this patient in wheelchair transfer skills met with little success. An individualized training program based on the patient's specific cognitive strengths and deficits was developed. The major elements of the program were (a) careful observation of task performance, (b) task analysis of the skill to be taught, (c) utilization of the patient's learning strengths to guide performance, (d) small step hierarchical programming to meet the desired goal, (e) intense repetition of the skill and (f) data collection procedures to monitor change and program adjustments. Six weeks after the program was implemented the patient was able to complete safe transfers, and was discharged home. At follow-up, two weeks after discharge, inconsistency in transfers was noted; the written program was immediately reestablished, and the patient continued safe wheelchair transfers at every subsequent check. This study suggests that treatment outcome in patients with right hemisphere damage may not be as bleak as has been previously suggested. A treatment strategy that includes an optimal utilization of a patient's verbal skills to cue and monitor performance and judgment, along with systematic data collection to guide program modifications, can lead to a more successful rehabilitation outcome.