An Overview of the Attention Improvement Management (AIM) Program With Outcomes for Three Pilot Participants

Abstract

Direct attention training (DAT) and metacognitive strategy instruction have been employed to treat the cognitive deficits associated with traumatic brain injury (TBI) in children and are supported by an emerging evidence base (e.g., Butler et al., 2008; Galbiati et al., 2009; Luton, Reed-Knight, Loiselle, O’Toole, & Blount, 2011; van’t Hooft et al., 2007). The importance of treatment intensity is well established for DAT (Sohlberg et al., 2003), yet restrictions in the delivery and funding of rehabilitation services, the availability of well-trained interventionists, and access by geographic locale remain critical barriers to the provision of intensive services. Computer-delivered treatments that incorporate a home practice component address the gulf between the intensive, daily practice suggested by the efficacy research and these clinical delivery constraints. The purpose of this paper is to (a) review the literature evaluating the integration of DAT and metacognitive facilitation to treat children and adolescents with traumatic brain injury (TBI); (b) present the rationale and description of a computerized program, Attention Improvement Management (AIM); (c) detail the program components; and (d) present outcome data from three pilot participants who completed the intervention. A specific and growing subset of children with TBI have attention impairments following mild brain injuries or concussions (Schatz & Scolaro Moser, 2011) and served as the pilot participants in this study. Pilot participants demonstrated clinically meaningful improvements on attention outcome measures and generalization of the metacognitive strategies trained within the program to contexts outside of therapy, including both academic and social settings. Though initial results are promising, further research is needed to evaluate the efficacy of the AIM intervention to treat the attention and executive function impairments associated with pediatric TBI.