CAN DO! Strengths and Brain Injury.

By Stuart Miles, FreeDigitalPhotos
By Stuart Miles, FreeDigitalPhotos

Build on the CAN DO instead of focussing on the CAN’T DO.  Great idea.

Work from the strengths and abilities rather than problems a person has. Wonderful.

What about when a person has a brain injury? Yup, seems a great way to work.

What does it look like in action? How do I do it?

If you are having these kinds of thoughts and questions, about supporting a person from a strengths approach, join me in the learning. If you already have an understanding – please share some of your insights with us.

For most of us focusing on strengths, rather than solving problems, is not our natural way, yet we know it is a great way to enable people to achieve their best.

Think about your own life. Who amongst us says “Well these are all my faults, I am going to make those really obvious and concentrate on them”?  No!  We usually work to hide our faults and shine up our strengths. We focus on the features we like about ourselves; what we are good at.

I like that as a strategy. When supporting someone living with a brain injury:  “Shine up the good points”.

I see that each person living with brain injury is already an example of resilience and survival. I have been asking around and searching out examples of where people have built from their strengths following brain injury, or have found positive outcomes they did not expect. So far I have not found too many, yet I believe there is more out there.

Pleeeeease if you have any stories or examples, could you share them here. I will share one I found on TED below.

Sidetrack – a bit about TED: If you have not yet discovered it. Wow what a resource. TED describes itself as ‘ a nonprofit devoted to ‘Ideas Worth Spreading’. – not just about brain injury, about almost any topic you could think of.  You can spend hours, days exploring all kinds of fascinating stuff.

Wait don’t go there yet!

Back to strengths.  This particular TED talk was called:

“The Game that Can Give You 10 Extra Years of Life”

by game designer Jane McGonigal. I highly recommend watching this if you have time.  In addition to her fascinating and fun strategy to help manage her brain injury, it reinforces the upside of a strengths based approach.

In Jane’s story she began with something she loved and was good at. Her story also highlights the importance of resilience. Both of which are fundamental to good work and great journeys.

As I said Jane is a video game designer, she had a severe concussion that left her with significant restrictions. Jane looked to what she knew, as a starting point. She looked at what video games could do for her. Jane designed a game to literally get her out of bed and on her feet.

Jane also demonstrates through her story, and the game she went on to develop, that building resilience is important to a good life and that building on strengths can lead to all sorts of possibilities.

OK, I am not suggesting that everyone takes up video game design. I am not suggesting everyone will have the startling outcomes Jane has had. I am suggesting that a focus on:

What a person can do

What a person wants to do

What a person is good at

                Is a great starting place!

 

Some ideas you might try:
  • Have conversations that help find out what the person is good at. Work together on how you can build on this.
  • Talk to family and friends. Look at the person’s strengths in personality and character. How might  these be better used?
  • When developing strategies begin with the ones that build on the skills, knowledge and strengths the person already has.
  • Make sure strategies are realistic for the person. Ensure they use their skills and resources while also being appropriate to their lifestyle.
  • Work on changes that will have the most impact and do not try and change too many things at once.
  • Strengths also include what’s happening around each person: who, what where. For instance look at what parts the day suit the person best and build on these.
  • Celebrate achievements however small they seem.
  • Remember Shine up the good points!

 

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Here is a simple example that made a big difference to an older couple.

Jim was caring for his wife, Anne, who had Alzheimer’s dementia; he was at his wits end when trying to cook the evening meal.  Anne would be in the kitchen trying to light the stove, moving things around, with both of them becoming distressed.

When thinking about what Anne had done in the past, he recalled that caring for her family and her home had been Anne’s pride and priority. On thinking about this, Jim’s strategy was to give Anne a task in the kitchen she could do, or be involved in, that did not distract from getting the meal ready. They discovered that with a tea towel in her hands as a prompt, Anne would focus on the dishes, and they could be together in the kitchen without both becoming distressed.

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Please share any stories or examples you have in the comments below.

 

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