P114: Rehabilitation for Inflammatory Disorder in the Brain

The diversity of neurological sequelae that may occur after an inflammatory disorder in the brain (brain abscess, encephalitis, or meningitis) provides a range of challenges to the rehabilitation team. The therapist must identify the problems underlying the individual’s movement dysfunctions without the template of the cluster of “typical” problems available with some other neurological diagnoses. Each client presents a combination of problems that is unique to that client and that requires the creative design of an intervention program. The following discussion of the therapeutic management of individuals recovering from an inflammatory disorder in the brain focuses on the process of designing an intervention plan to address the specific dysfunctions of the individual client. Because the management of the clinical problems is built on an understanding of the underlying pathological condition and because therapists may not be as familiar with these disease processes, an overview of the inflammatory disorders of the brain is presented.