Traumatic Brain Injury Resource Network

How to use the Matrix

Assessment

The most common scenario is that a school team will be presented with a student who is struggling academically, socially, emotionally or behaviorally. There will either be a medical history of a TBI or a suspicion of TBI (per credible history). The bullets in the Behavioral Impacts and the Cognitive/Academic Impacts may help teams discern between areas of concern. Once the team decides (or prioritizes) the area(s) of concern, they can go immediately to that domain within the “Assessment” section. The Assessment section contains a list of assessments that are strongly validated and reliable for that specific area. Assessment suggestions on the Matrix were intentionally limited to tests that are readily accessible, easily learned and administered by school personnel.

In the spirit of “focused assessment”, Best Practice guidelines would suggest that no disability ever be established on the basis of 1 single test, part or whole. The assessment of TBI must be based upon multiple sources of data, (formal and informal), sample behaviors over a period of time, in numerous settings and documented by more than one reporter. For TBI eligibility, medical documentation or credible history (of a particular injury or culmination of injuries) is required. Unusual or suspicious assessment results, without medical documentation or credible history, is not sufficient to determine TBI.

The assessments in the matrix are not intended to be an exhaustive list of assessments. They are whole or partial sections of standardized assessments known to be most sensitive and most responsive to characteristics of TBI.

Intervention

Once a team has determined the underlying area of concern, the team can then go to the corresponding “Intervention” section. Within that section, there are a list of interventions known to be helpful in intervening and remediating that area of concern. Best Practice guidelines suggest that for each area of concern, teams apply the corresponding intervention(s) that have the strongest evidence-base. Again, no disability should ever be treated with 1 single intervention. Each intervention must be based in research, must be applied appropriately – with fidelity, frequency, duration and intensity per the requirements of the program.

The interventions in the matrix are not intended to be an exhaustive list of interventions. They are simply the interventions most strongly supported in research and most commonly applied to affect change in the area(s) of concern.

The TBI matrix was designed with the professional school-based team in mind. Each team member is responsible for following the professional guidelines of assessment and practice that apply to their discipline.