Resource Guide Glossary

Glossary of Terms

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Lability	State of having notable shifts in emotional responses (e.g., uncontrolled laughing or crying).
Laceration	A ragged tear.
Language	The system used to communicate thoughts through symbols.
Latency Of Response/Response Delay	The amount of time it takes a person to respond after the stimulus has been presented.
Leg Bag	A small, thick plastic bag that can be tied to the leg and collects urine. It is connected by tubing to a catheter that is inserted into the urinary bladder.
Leisure Counseling	The exploration of how a person felt about leisure/recreation before the injury and how the person feels about it now; how to make the best of leisure time, what recreational resources are available in the community and how to take advantage of them; and what changes have to be made to continue past leisure pursuits.
Leisure Skills	The ability to participate in recreational activities and to independently make effective use of one's leisure time and opportunities.
Lethargic	Awakens with stimulation; drowsy but awake.
Lifelong Living Program	Primary emphasis is for persons discharged from rehabilitation who need ongoing lifetime support. Structured activities are provided on both an individual and group basis, usually in a residential or skilled nursing environment.
Locked-In Syndrome	A condition resulting from interruption of motor pathways in the ventral pons, usually by infarction. This disconnection of the motor cells in the spinal cord from controlling signals issued by the brain leaves the patient completely paralyzed and mute, but able to receive and understand sensory stimuli; communication may be possible by code using blinking, or movements of the jaw or eyes, all of which are spared.
Logbook	A diary-like listing of the individual's daily activities which can be used to help remember what happened during the course of the day, names of persons with whom contact occurred, and the order in which events occurred. The brain-injured person, family members and staff are encouraged to make entries. Used to compensate for memory deficits.
Logical Ability	Ability to formulate a general rule or principle which one can use to objectively solve a problem. Also the ability to plan, regulate and control one's own activities.
Lucid Interval	A period shortly after injury when the patient was reported to have talked.

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Material for the glossary was provided by the Ontario Brain Injury Association (OBIA).