The Source for Safety: Cognitive Retraining for Independent Living

Details:  176-page book plus online access to reproducible pages, The Source for Safety Evaluation, therapy activities.

ISBN13: 978-0-760-60850-0

Release Date: 2008

Ages: Adults

This Source is the first evaluation tool AND therapy manual to address patient safety issues from a cognitive framework. Use it to retrain adults to recognize, reason, and problem solve for safety concerns in the hospital, at home, and in the community.

The Source for Safety Evaluation tool and the therapy content are coordinated so you can efficiently identify areas of concern and intervene.  Safety awareness and independence are addressed in the areas of:

• Room/Bedroom and Bathroom
• Wheelchairs and Assistive Devices
• Swallowing and Diet
• Medications and Health
• Floors and Stairs
• Kitchen and Appliances
• Home Safety
• Community–Outside
• Community–Inside
• General Precautions

The evaluation subtests and treatment materials are divided into two to three levels of cognitive difficulty.  The evaluation scores and treatment difficulty levels are correlated with the FIM™, ASHA's Functional Communication Measures (FCMs), and Minimum Data Set (MDS) Levels.

The evaluation is easy to administer, score, and interpret.  The 16-page evaluation form may be reproduced from the book or purchased separately in booklet form as The Source for Safety Evaluation.  Use the evaluation results to:

• describe and quantify a patient's cognitive awareness and communication of problem-solving abilities
• make safe and appropriate discharge decisions
• set appropriate goals
• target intervention to meet safety needs

Treatment is provided through questions that stimulate convergent, divergent, and evaluative thinking.  The questions present challenging real-life situations to consider and solve.  Clients respond to safety questions, discuss safety-related situations, and rehearse responses.

SLPs and other therapists working in any level of medical care (e.g., acute, rehabilitation, long-term) and in any setting (e.g., clinic, home health, private practice) will find content to help identify and resolve their clients' safety concerns.  Copy the activity pages or print them from the FREE CD.

An efficacy study of The Source for Safety Evaluation and the treatment program as outlined in The Source for Safety: Cognitive Retraining for Independent Living was completed on 42 patients and clients.  There was a mean gain of 35% in the specific content areas presented during therapy over a two- to six-week period.  In addition, therapy directed to specific areas of safety awareness and problem solving carried over at a significant level to safety areas not specifically addressed during therapy (Fogle, Reece, & White, 2008).