Ambulation Case Studies

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For the cognitive stage of learning, I would start by demonstrating how to ambulate properly with a cane before having her attempt the task. I would make sure her therapy session is in a closed environment free from distraction so she could focus on getting the task of walking with a cane down properly rather than being distracted and making mistakes when ambulating. When she is about to first attempt to ambulate with a cane I would break down the task into parts before completing whole practice. For gait training with a cane, this would include having the patient start by weight shifting as if they are going to step, then practice taking a step forward and then back again with the leg opposite the cane, and then practice taking a whole step followed by another step. …show more content…
Once she unsterstand how to properly complete the broken down parts of ambulating with a cane, have her complete the whole task and take several steps. Extrinsic and intrinsic feedback should be provided that focuses on consistent errors rather than random errors. For example if she is making a consistent error in stepping before putting the cane in front of her, I would provide verbal cues to have her correct the error and have her self-correct the error if she makes it again. When completing therapy, prior learning should be related to different movement skills and the similarities and differences should be established. This allows the patient to learn new tasks by using old skills, which is important since she was able to walk without an assistive device prior to her relapse so she should use that knowledge to learn how to walk with an assistive device. The most important thing is repetitive practice to master a new