Working with people with TBI: Staff Self-Study Module 6

TBI Staff training What you need to know Staff self study modules 1 - 12 1. Intro to TBI 2. Communication 3. Skills for independence 4. Cognitive changes 5. Behaviour changes 6. Sexuality 7. Case management 8. Supervising staff 9. Mobility 10. Mental health: Introduction 11. Mental health: Diagnosis 12. Working with Families Toolkits A & B A: The Next Step B: Promoting Independence Smart Phone Apps Work place learning Presenters' resources 1 - 8 1. Intro to TBI 2. Communication 3. Skills for independence 4. Cognitive changes 5. Behaviour changes 6. Sexuality 7. Case management 8. Supervising staff Search the site
Staff self study modules
Module	Module 6
1. Intro to TBI	6.0 Aims Awareness 6.1a Sexuality 6.1b Issues 6.1c Values Rights, needs and issues 6.2a Rights and responsibility 6.2b Myths 6.2c Responding to individual needs Communication 6.3a Verbal/ non-verbal 6.3b Special needs 6.3c Our responses 6.3d Interviewing about sexuality Treatment strategies 6.4a Treatment 6.4b Case studies Managing inappropriate behaviour 6.5a Sexually inappropriate behaviour 6.5b Management of inappropriate behaviour Resources 6.6 Take home messages 6.7 Resources 6.8 Take the Test
2. Communication
3. Skills for independ
4.Cognitive changes
5. Behaviour changes
6. Sexuality
7.Case management
8.Supervising staff
9.Mobility & motor control
10. Mental health & TBI: an introduction
11.Mental health problems and TBI: diagnosis & management
12. Working with Families after Traumatic Injury: An Introduction
Feedback Acknowledgements Copyright Brain Injury Rehabilitation Unit Liverpool Hospital Brain Injury Rehabilitation Directorate (BIRD) NSW Agency for Clinical Innovation

6.3b Clients special needs in verbal communication

Clients who have had a head injury have special needs in verbal communication about sexuality. Common needs are:

more time than the average person to take in information
more time to process information
more time to respond
more repetition
small chunks of information at a time
external limit-setting or prompts about appropriate behaviour

People who have had TBI often get easily overloaded with too much information delivered too fast. People who have memory problems need a lot of repetition and reminders.

Taking time to plan how best to deal with a client's sexual issues saves time in the long term. The longer an undesirable behaviour continues, the harder it is to change. There will be a short term increase in work to tackle the problem, but a decrease in effort in the future once it is resolved.

Inappropriate sexual behaviour is not personal. The client is not doing it to intentionally upset the worker. He or she is acting out the effects of the TBI while the worker is present. Keeping the focus on the behaviour that needs to be addressed rather than feeling personally involved helps to maintain distance between the worker and the client's behaviour.