Steve Young’s Brain Injury Interview Checklist

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How Are Victims of Brain Injury like HAL the Computer?

In “2001 A Space Odyssey,” a computer named HAL runs amok during a flight to Jupiter. HAL was the tender voiced computer that interacted with the astronauts as if he were a crew member. But HAL had a problem. He did not recognize he was malfunctioning (if you’ve seen the movie, you know why I would personify him) and took every step to prevent correction because he “was just fine.” HAL wasn’t fine regardless of what he thought.

Clients with Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI), despite their assurances to the contrary, are not fine either. Throughout the case your client with TBI will deny an impairment, even when confronted with medical confirmation of impairment. That is the nature of the injury. For this reason, you must explore with the client, in detail, his background or symptoms that may warrant deeper investigation.

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