Examining Strategy Training for Optimizing Attention in Rehabilitation for Community-Dwelling Individuals With Spatial Neglect
It is common for individuals after stroke to have a cognitive perceptual impairment called unilateral spatial neglect (neglect). Individuals with neglect have difficulty paying attention to one side of their body or one side of the environment and therefore experience difficulty performing daily activities. There are a lack of effective treatments for neglect and new interventions are needed to help reduce disability for these individuals. Metacognitive strategy training (strategy training) is an intervention that has the potential to reduce neglect-related disability and improve individuals' attention and awareness of their neglect. This study seeks to examine the effects of strategy training on neglect, self-awareness, and disability, specifically for individuals who are living in the community after their stroke.
• had a stroke
• presence of neglect as determined by score of \<18 or 2 or more collisions on the Virtual Reality Lateralized Attention Test (VRLAT) or score below established cutoff for neglect on one of the six subtests of the Behavioral Inattention Test (BIT);
• ≥18 years old
• lives within 30 miles of the University of Pittsburgh in a community dwelling.