Cognitive Functioning: Kevin Part Nine
Kevin’s world is not just spectating. While his living and ongoing treatment situation leaves him somewhat sheltered, he still has many areas where his cognitive functioning issues cause him difficulty.
So you, your ability to remember things as important to you as sporting events isn’t bad. What types cognitive functioning things do you forget?
Like it’s hard to explain, like short-term, like I want to say something then I forget what I’m going to say. That kind of stuff.
Do you have more trouble remembering things that you say than things that you might watch in a football game?
Yeah. Like I’m going to say something and all of a sudden like I’ll be talking to somebody and all of a sudden I can’t remember what I was going to say. And it happens often too and it drives me, I don’t like it you know. It frustrates me.
What about problems with your cognitive functioning such as concentration?
I think I, my concentration is pretty good I think and I like to read. Like John Grisham books.
How fast do you read? How long will it take you to read a couple hundred-page book?
Probably slow going. Couple of hundred-page book? Probably be maybe a week maybe.
Do you get tired when you’re reading?
No.
Can do it for a few hours at a time?
A few, a few hours at a time.
Is it difficult for you to read if there’s any distraction or noise around you?
Yes. I like to read when it’s quiet, you can concentrate better. And so noise, your mind gets distracted and you can’t concentrate when you’re reading, what the book is saying to you.
What level of noise starts to distract you? Is there anything in this room right now that distracts you?
No, no really. Maybe that clock.
We’ve got a fair amount of noise from the street. Those things aren’t bothering you?
It’s got to be like real, you know some noise in the background don’t bother, when you try to talk to somebody or someone, or people talking in the back or in a, in the same room like talking you know and it just distracts you while you’re reading.
Do you have trouble in restaurants?
No.
As far as cognitive functioning, do you have difficulty with the speech/hearing part as much as you do the speech/speaking part?
I think, you want to repeat that question?
Well speech is speaking and it’s listening.
Right.
You have had some trouble with the speaking part, do you have trouble with the listening part?
No, I don’t think so, no.
Is your memory reasonably good of things that you hear?
Yes.
Such as the basketball game last night?
Oh yeah.
He did demonstrate good listening comprehension throughout our interview. In absence of a formal evaluation, and without collateral interviews it is hard to tell whether his cognitive functioning in some of these often impaired areas, are as minimal as he states.
Next in Part Ten – A Normal Day In Kevin’s Life
By Attorney Gordon Johnson
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At my first brain rehab, I volunteered at a library. I kept seeing books about the brain. I signed out a few and read the first few pages, then put the book down. I brought the book, marked up to the point where I had read it, gave it to my speech pathologist. Being on workers compensation, they don’t really want to have deficits before and after proven, documented. She only told me to “get books that you would be interested in” to read. I was interested in those books, would have been really interested in her teaching me learning comprehension all over again as well…..