Survival Kit

This Survival Kit was developed originally by Debbie Leonhardt after her brain injury dramatically changed her professional and personal life. Working with her therapist, she developed practical tools and strategies that helped her deal with the challenges of learning how to live with the cognitive challenges that made each day a struggle to simply survive. Her early workbook was the basis of this expanded 208 page organizer and planner. While it was specially designed for persons with brain injuries, it can be used by persons with other disorders affecting memory, planning and organizational skills.

The Survival Kit can be used at any stage of the rehabilitation process and the survivor’s recovery. Many clinicians and therapists are using it as part of a cognitive rehabilitation program. Some families and caregivers are using it to reinforce the development and use of compensatory strategies at home and in the community. Some individuals are using it independently as part of their daily or weekly routine.

The Kit’s flexibility encourages users to select the sections and strategies that are most useful and relevant for their situation and needs. The seven sections include schedules and calendars, journals and logs, daily living checklists, visual reminders, treatment tasks and goals, personal and household information, and daily survival strategies. There are samples with written information that show how to use the various forms, calendars and checklists.