What does it take to collaborate with families affected by brain injury? A preliminary model.
BACKGROUND
Collaboration refers to a process in which family expertise is acknowledged and used to direct selection, implementation, and evaluation of treatment plans. Although the skills required to create collaborative partnerships with families are a mainstay of practice for certain rehabilitation disciplines, others have traditionally worked in client-clinician dyads that emphasize the role of the professional as responsible for client change. In addition, the existing collaborative models for working with families affected by brain injury require intensive resources and supports, making collaborative partnerships difficult to create within today's clinical and educational service delivery environments.


RESULTS
In this article, we report our efforts to create an accessible set of collaboration procedures for rehabilitation professionals working in clinical and educational settings with individuals with brain injury and their families. A 2-year, qualitative study with eight families led to the development of a preliminary model and prescriptive manual for applying collaborative principles to practice.


CONCLUSIONS
We review the components of the model and implications for practice.
Sohlberg
M M
MM
Communication Disorder & Sciences Program, College of Education, University of Oregon, Eugene, Oregon 97403-5284, USA. mckay@oregon.uoregon.edu
McLaughlin
K A
KA
Todis
B
B
Larsen
J
J
Glang
A
A
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D001930:Brain Injuries / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000534:rehabilitation*; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003299:Cooperative Behavior; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D015601:Injury Severity Score; D008297:Male; D017146:Models, Organizational; D011368:Professional-Family Relations; D012046:Rehabilitation / Q000379:methods*; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity