The brain is an interconnected web, with many areas contributing to a skill/action. Areas that are mostly responsible for a skill/action are often called “centers”. Complex functions draw upon multiple regions of the brain, requiring more conscious effort and a well-regulated nervous system.
Executive Functions are complex, “higher level” skills that combine to achieve a larger goal. If there are difficulties with these essential skills, extra brain effort is required to achieve tasks and goals.
- Multi-tasking
- Problem-solving
- Planning
- Volition
- Working memory
- Learning/open-mindedness
- Sequencing steps/tasks
- Shifting tasks
- Inhibition/emotion regulation
- Sustained focus/attention
- Initiation
- Task completion
- Language skills
- Long term memory
- Short term memory
MAXIMUM EFFORT
MODERATE EFFORT
Good brain function relies on good roots. If other parts of the nervous system are not working optimally, the brain won’t work optimally. The nervous system can be impacted by a variety of health conditions, as well as insufficient sleep, nutrition, physical activity, mental health, environmental/social supports, etc.. This can affect:
- Balance/Coordination
- Gross/Fine motor control, including digestion
- Visual processing
- Experiencing Pleasure/Reward and Risk/Danger
- Modulation/Processing other senses: hearing, smell, taste, tactile, pain, hot/cold, proprioception (body position in an environment), and interoception (what’s happening inside the body)
Fatigue
Neurological difficulties are exhausting. A typical adult brain uses 20-30% of the body’s resources. An injured brain can use 30-50% of the body’s resources. The “Diathesis Stress Model”, which usually illustrates psychological stress, is also useful for illustrating the functional range of the brain and nervous system.
In Blue is the range of functional cognition. At the bottom of each bar is the level of input/stress is required to get up and start a day’s worth of tasks. At the top of each bar is the point at which a day’s tasks are overwhelming to the point of either shut-down or tantrum. As we grow up, we expand our resilience and range of function. For fully functioning adults, it might take some caffeine or a morning jog to get going, but we can tolerate a lot before we are overwhelmed.
In this example, recovering after a new injury involves slowly expanding one’s capacity. The goal is needing less effort to get started, lasting longer with a full cognitive load, and getting overwhelmed less easily.
How Occupational Therapy Helps
In therapy, we will map out the many variables affecting your capacity, and figure out which ones we can improve. Then, we will g
Brain Tree 