Hello to all of our Readers,

Can you believe it's November already?

October was busy at GLA, particularly because it was National Occupational Therapy month. First honoured in 1980, this month was created to acknowledge and create awareness of the vital role OTs play in rehabilitation and recovery. We hope that you enjoyed some interesting events and educational opportunities during October like we did.

So what is new at GLA for November?

We are happy to announce that Ruth Rollo, a Rehabilitation Support Worker with more than 10 years of ABI experience, has joined our skilled team of RSWs. She joins GLA after managing a team at PHABIS and earning experience with caring for TBI clients for many years. We hope you'll join us in welcoming her.

Also, as noted in our September 2014 Newsletter, we are thrilled to announce that we are now able to provide psychotherapy and RSW services in Korean.

We have been having great response in regards to our new driving anxiety treatment program with Dr. Denise Milovan, Psychologist and Neuropsychologist. Clients are also sharing great feedback about our Vocational Assessments that are being completed by Iva Keightley, Registered Social Worker and a Certified Vocational Specialist.

Please refer to our website to find out more information.

In this month's edition we continue to highlight our Assessment of the Month. This month we have chosen to discuss the Independent Living Scale (ILS).

The ILS is a standardized assessment to measure competence in instrumental activities of daily living and to assist in determining if a client is able to live independently. It is an excellent functional tool to examine client's higher functioning cognitive impairments following a TBI.

Read more about the ILS here.

Our Monthly Success Story comes from a client who was diagnosed with Homonymous Hemianopsia following a TBI. Homonymous hemianopsia is a vision condition resulting in the loss of half of the visual field on the same side in both eyes. In addition to the hemianopsia, the client was experiencing left neglect, which is a deficit resulting in inattention and lack of awareness of the left side. The client began to notice her left neglect when she was continuously bumping into walls and furniture on her left side.

Read about our Success Story and learn more about Homonymous Hemianopsia and Visual Neglect on our blog.

Finally, please come and visit our booth at the Toronto ABI Network conference on November 20 and 21, 2014. GLA will be presenting Thursday afternoon on Building Insight into the Community. We hope to see you there!

Best Regards,

Galit Liffshiz, MA OT Reg. (Ont.)
Expertise and Experience in Life Care Planning
Designated Capacity Assessor

Homonymous Hemianopsia and Visual Neglect following a TBI

Following an injury to the right side of the brain, an individual's visual field might be affected. Some vision problems after TBI include blurred vision, sensitivity to light, double vision, achy eyes, headaches with visual tasks, words appear to move when reading, loss of visual field. The loss of part of one's visual field can refer to Homonymous Hemianopsia. The resultant consequence is losing one half of their side vision on the same side in both eyes.
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Independent Living Scale: A Functional Approach to Assessing Independence

As occupational therapists, one of our focuses of therapy is the client's ability to participate effectively in their activities of daily living. This may comprise of their basic activities of daily living (ADLs), which include bathing, dressing, feeding, mobility, and grooming. It may also comprise of their instrumental activities of daily living (IADLs) which include caring for others, driving, financial management, home management/maintenance, meal preparation, and shopping.
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