Description

Rehabilitation, is "a set of measures that assist individuals, who

experience or are likely to experience disability, to achieve and maintain

optimum functioning in interaction with their environments". Rehabilitation measures are aimed at prevention of the loss of

function, slowing the rate of loss of function, improvement or

restoration of function, compensation for lost function and maintenance

of current function. Rehabilitation is always voluntary and some

individuals may require support with decision-making about

rehabilitation choices. In all cases rehabilitation should help empower a

person with a disability and his or her family. Rehabilitation is crosssectoral

and may be carried out by health professionals in conjunction

with specialists in education, employment, social welfare and other

fields.

Rehabilitation process assists stroke survivors re-gain skills that

are lost when brain is damaged. The aims of rehabilitation are to assist

stroke survivors become self-reliant and to attain the prime possible

quality of life. Even though rehabilitation does not totally "heal" the

after effects of stroke and does not reverse brain damage, it can

considerably help survivors to attain the best feasible quality of life on a

long-term basis.

Rehabilitation psychology is the study and application of

psychological principles on behalf of persons who have disability due to

injury or illness. Rehabilitation psychologists, often as teams, assess and

treat cognitive, emotional and functional difficulties and help people to

overcome barriers to participate in life activities. Rehabilitation

psychologists are involved in practice, research and advocacy, with the

broad goal of fostering independence and opportunity for people with

disabilities