Disability Services

Lane Home Search Lane

Teaching Strategies

For Students with Head Injuries

Concentration & Attention

Many students with brain injuries find it hard to pay attention or concentrate, especially over an extended period of time. They may not remember the question that was asked or all the parts of the homework assignment. A task may not be finished, because the student is distracted easily or moves onto something else. Strategies for improving attention and concentration can include:

• Reduce distractions in the student's work area
• Divide work into smaller sections (i.e. have the student complete one section at a time; suggest times and expectations for completion)
• Ask the student to summarize information orally that has just been presented
• Use cue words to alert the student to pay attention (e.g. "listen", "look", "name", etc.)
• Establish a nonverbal cueing system (e.g. eye contact, touch, etc.) to remind the student to pay attention

Memory

This is the ability to mentally record and store information and recall it when needed. Yet short-term memory is often affected by a brain injury. Strategies for teachers to help improve students' memory skills include:

• Frequently repeat information and summarize it
• Have the student carry an assignment sheet to each class and check that it is correctly filled out
• Teach the student to use devices such as post-it notes, calendars and assignment books as self-reminders
• Teach the student to categorize or chunk information to aid retention
• Demonstrate techniques such as mental rehearsal and use of special words or examples as reminders
• Link new information to the student's relevant prior knowledge
• Provide experiential presentations of instructional materials

Organization

The ability to arrange information, materials and activities in an orderly way is essential to learning. Otherwise the student may seem hopelessly lost and unable to sort things out. When organizational abilities are affected by brain injury, teachers can help by providing the student with:

• Additional time for review
• Written checklists of steps for complex tasks with instructions for checking off each completed step in an assignment or task
• Written schedule of daily routines and reinforcements for referring to schedule
• An assigned person to review the schedule at the start of the school day and organize materials for each class
• Written cues for organizing an activity (i.e. first you do this, next you do this, etc.)
• Practice sequencing material
• Outline based on class lectures
• Color coded materials for each class (i.e. book, notebook, supplies, etc.)
• Help planning a class activity, party or after school event to practice organizing an activity

Following Directions

Formally defined as the ability to execute a series of steps to accomplish a task or assignment, following directions is critical for competing class assignments and homework. Teachers can help the student who has difficulty in this area by:

• Providing oral and written instructions
• Asking the student to repeat instructions back to the teacher or a peer
• Underlining or highlighting significant parts of directions or written assignments
• Rewriting complex directions into simple steps
• Giving directions, asking student to perform the task, checking for accuracy and then providing immediate feedback
• Slowing down the pace of instruction

All of the areas referenced above are related closely. Attention, concentration, memory, organization and following directions depend on complex brain functions that are interrelated. Each brain injury affects each student differently. These strategies can be used readily and easily at home and in the classroom, although it usually takes some trial and error to figure out which strategies are most effective, and time is needed for the student to learn how to use these strategies. But with the success that can result as the student succeeds in school is well worth the effort

If you'd like more information about Brain Injuries, please refer to the Brain Injury Association

Disability Services : Student Services building (#1), room 218
(541) 463-5150 voice, (541) 463-3079 TTY only, (541) 463-4739 FAX