Assessment and treatment of cognitive deficits in brain-damaged individuals.
The 1987 roadmap—assess, train, generalize—still guides modern cognitive rehab across new populations and tools.
01Research in Context
What this study did
Dougan (1987) wrote a guide for clinicians who help people with brain injury.
The paper lists ways to test memory, attention, and problem-solving after injury.
It also tells how to train families and plan for real-life use of new skills.
What they found
The review says good rehab has three parts: find the deficit, teach the skill, and check if it transfers.
Without all three, clients may learn a task in clinic but lose it at home.
How this fits with other research
Schedlowski et al. (2025) looked at memory training for dementia using match-to-sample.
They found mixed results, showing the 1987 call for strong generalization checks is still urgent.
D'Agostino et al. (2025) updated the same three-step model for people with serious mental illness.
They added new twists like aerobic exercise, proving the frame still grows.
Cicchetti et al. (2014) tested computer brain games for autism.
They saw gains on the screen but little carry-over, echoing D’s 1987 warning.
Why it matters
Use the three-step checklist today. Test the exact memory or attention gap, teach with many real examples, and probe at home before you fade visits. If the skill stays only in clinic, loop back and retrain with new cues or settings.
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02At a glance
03Original abstract
Rehabilitation professionals are recognizing the need for greater emphasis on treating cognitive as well as physical deficits in brain-damaged individuals. This review discusses recent advances in the development of treatments for patients with cognitive deficits secondary to brain damage. The review will focus upon treatments developed for problems with attention and vigilance, memory, language and reading abilities, visuoperceptual functioning, and driving skills. An overview of the treatment process presents the role of assessment and case conceptualization, patient and family education, application of rehabilitation interventions, and approaches to promoting recovery generalization and maintenance of relearned abilities.
Behavior modification, 1987 · doi:10.1177/01454455870113004