Purpose: To investigate how individualized occupation-based interventions with commonly available everyday technology (ET) can compensate for perceived difficulties with daily life tasks after an aquired brain injury (ABI) and improve satisfaction with occupational performance. Method: This intervention study was designed as a multiple case study according to Yin. Ten men and women with an ABI (traumatic or non-traumatic) participated. Data were collected through interviews, observations and field notes before and after the intervention and at follow-up (on average 11 weeks afterwards). The interventions focused on enabling each participant's prioritized goals related to task performance in daily life. Results: All participants achieved all their goals by learning to use both new functions in their own familiar ET and new ET. The participants perceived difficulties in occupational performance decreased and their satisfaction with occupational performance increased with the use of ET. Conclusions: An individualised intervention process, involving the use of own familiar ET or ET off-the-shelf, has the potential to compensate for perceived difficulties following an ABI and improve satisfaction with occupational performance in daily life.Key words: activities of daily living; assistive technology; brain injury; occupational therapy; rehabilitation
INTRODUCTIONPeople with an acquired brain injury (ABI) can experience a wide range of difficulties with daily life tasks, such as self-care, productivity and leisure [1,2], as well as restrictions of participation and decreased quality of life [3][4][5][6][7]. A compensatory approach to reduce remaining disabilities are therefore commonly applied, in rehabilitation in general [4,8,9] as well in occupational therapy [10,11]. In occupational therapy [11], adapted methods of doing, adaptive equipment and assistive technology (AT) are used to compensate for ineffective actions to improve the performance of daily life tasks that people with an ABI need and want to do to enhance their roles and participation in society.AT comprises low-tech (mechanical) and high-tech (electro-mechanical or computerized) devices [12] and is defind as "any item, piece of equipment, or product system, (acquired commercially off-the-shelf, modified, or customized), that is used to increase, maintain, or improve functional capabilities of individuals with disabilities" [13]. However, it can be difficult to differentiate AT from everyday technology (ET) objects [14], such as mobile phones and computers, that already exist in peoples' lives and may be used to reduce difficulties in occupational performance.In reviewing the literature about the use and efficency of AT or ET in the form of electronic aids in people with ABI, it was found that a variety of AT, such as palmtop computer, paging system, voice organizer, can reduce memory problems [9,[15][16][17][18][19]. To the best of our knowledge, only one study has used unmodified handheld computers off-the-shelf to compensate for disabilities ...