Resource Guide Glossary

Glossary of Terms

[A] [B] [C] [D] [E] [F] [G] [H] [I] [J] [K] [L] [M] [N] [O] [P] [Q] [R] [S] [T] [U] [V] [W] [X] [Y] [Z]

S.A.A.Q.	Society Automobile Assurance de Quebec.
Scanning	The active search of the environment for information; usually refers to "visual scanning" which is a skill used in reading, driving and many daily activities.
Scotoma	Area of blindness of varying size anywhere within the visual fields.
Secondary Insults	Secondary or delayed brain injury; includes all events other than the mechanical injury sustained at the time of impact. Secondary phenomena may be divided into systemic and intracranial insults. Systemic insults include hypoxemia, anemia, hypotension, hypercarbia, hyperthermia, and electrolyte imbalance.
Seizure	An uncontrolled discharge of nerve cells which may spread to other cells nearby or throughout the entire brain. It usually lasts only a few minutes. It may be associated with loss of consciousness, loss of bowel and bladder control and tremors. May also cause aggressive or other behavioral change.
Selective Attention	Ability to focus on the most important aspect of a situation without becoming distracted.
Sensation	Feeling stimuli which activate sensory organs of the body, such as touch, temperature, pressure and pain. Also seeing, hearing, smelling and tasting.
Sensorimotor	Refers to all aspects of movement and sensation and the interaction of the two.
Sensory Deprivation	A situation or environment where usual sensory stimuli, such as noise and light, as well as human contact, are absent or substantially decreased. In the case of noise, it may be masked by a continuous dull noise.
Sensory Integration	Interaction of two or more sensory processes in a manner which enhances the adaptiveness of the brain,
Sensory Stimulation Sequencing	Arousing the brain through any of the senses. Reading, listening, expressing thoughts, describing events or contracting muscles in an orderly and meaningful manner.
Sexuality Counseling	Using supportive techniques and special methods to help head-injured survivors and their families deal with special and intimate relationship issues.
Shock, Circulatory	A clinical condition characterized by signs and symptoms which arise when the cardiac output is insufficient to fill the arterial tree with blood under sufficient pressure to provide organs and tissues with adequate blood flow.
Shunt	A procedure to draw off excessive fluid in the brain. A surgically-placed tube running from the ventricles deposits fluid into either the abdominal cavity, heart or large veins of the neck.
Skull Fracture	The breaking of the bones surrounding the brain. A depressed skull fracture is one in which the broken bone(s) exert(s) pressure on the brain.
Social Assessment	A social assessment includes general background data, description of family or other support group resources -including emotional, financial and environment resources, their availability to the patient, and the patient's position and role in the family (child, parent, spouse) -- and educational and employment history. Also included are such topics as interest, lifestyle, friendships, goals, ambitions, personality traits, positive and/or negative relationships and previous problems (such as medical, psychiatric, drug abuse, alcohol). The assessment attempts to reveal the patient's and the family's level of understanding of the patient's current condition, probable long-range outcome, expectations of rehabilitation, degree of disruption in family functioning that the disability has produced, and the ability and interest of the patient and family members to adjust to changed circumstances.
Social Worker	Expert in the social, emotional, and financial needs of families and patients. Social workers often help families locate the services they need, both for themselves and the patient.
"Space Boots" (Spenco Boots)	Padded support devices made of lamb's wool used to position the feet and ankles of the patient. Without this support and alignment, patients who are unconscious for long periods may develop deformities limiting future movement.
Spasticity	An involuntary increase in muscle tone (tension) that occurs following injury to the brain or spinal cord, causing the muscles to resist being moved. Characteristics may include increase in deep tendon reflexes, resistance to passive stretch, clasp knife phenomenon, and clonus.
Spatial Ability	Ability to perceive the construction of an object in both two and three dimensions. Spatial ability is composed of four components the ability to perceive a static figure in different positions, the ability to interpret and duplicate the movements between various parts of a figure, the ability to perceive the relationship between an object and a person's own body sphere, and the ability to interpret the person's body as an object in space.
Speech Language Pathologist	A therapist responsible for the evaluation and treatment of problems with speech and language; auditory, cognitive (comprehension), attention, writing, reading and expression skills. Please see page 65 for a more detailed description.
Speech-Language Pathology Services	Speech-language pathology services provide for a continuum of services including prevention, identification, diagnosis, consultation, and treatment of patients regarding speech, language, oral and pharyngeal sensorimotor function.
Spontaneous Movement	A reaction resulting from a natural impulse without obvious planning or premeditation.
Spontaneous Recovery	The recovery which occurs as damage to body tissues heals. This type of recovery occurs with or without rehabilitation and it is very difficult to know how much improvement is spontaneous and how much is due to rehabilitative interventions. However, when the recovery is guided by an experienced rehabilitation team, complications can be anticipated and minimized; the return of function can be channeled in useful directions and in progressive steps so that the eventual outcome is the best that is possible.
Status Epilepticus	Continuous seizures; may produce permanent brain damage.
Stimulus	That which causes sensation (i.e., light for vision, salt for taste, sound for hearing, etc.). When a patient first comes out of coma a great deal of controlled stimulation of all kinds is needed. When a patient becomes agitated the amount and intensity of stimulation should be limited (e.g., only one task for one sense at a time).
Strabismus, External	Outward turning of the eye which may be due to a lesion of the occulomotor nerve (III) causing paralysis of the medial rectus muscle.
Strabismus, Internal	Inward turning of the eye which may be due to a lesion of the abducens nerve (VI) causing paralysis of the lateral rectus muscle.
Stupor	Deep sleep; unresponsive but awakens with repeated, often noxious stimulation. Awareness is depressed but present.
Subacute Rehabilitation Program	Primary emphasis is on the period following the initial comprehensive phase of inpatient rehabilitation. This type of program has the capacity to keep an individual from 6-24 months if necessary and does not have to be hospital based. Treatment is provided by an identifiable team in a designated unit.
Subarachnoid Screw	Also Subarachnoid Bolt. A device for measuring intracranial pressure which is screwed through a hole in the skull and rests on the surface of the brain.
Subdural	Beneath the dura (tough membrane) covering the brain and spinal cord.
Substance Abuse Program	A service offered by a program to deal with chemical dependency of an individual. The dependency may have occurred prior to the head injury or as a result of the head injury.
Supervision	Refers to the assistance provided when an individual requires no physical help but requires another person nearby for safety.
Supervision-Close	Assistant stands close to person, ready to give assistance if needed.
Supervision-Distant	Assistant can see the person and offer verbal assistance but is not close enough to touch the person.
Supine	Lying on one's back.
Support Group	A group established for families and/or head injured survivors to discuss the problems they may be having in coping and to seek solutions to those problems.
Support Hose	Anti-embolic stockings. Tight knee or thigh-high stockings that support the leg muscles and thus help maintain the circulation in the legs.
Supported Employment	Competitive work in integrated work settings for individuals with severe handicaps for whom competitive employment has not traditionally occurred, or for whom competitive employment has been interrupted or intermittent as a result of severe disability, and who, because of the handicaps, need on-going support services to perform that work. The term includes transitional employment for individuals with chronic mental illness.
Suppository	Medicine inserted into the rectum to help stimulate the muscle to push the feces out. This can be a small solid material or liquid.
Swan-Ganz Catheter	A catheter (tube) similar to the central venous pressure (CVP) line. It allows for pressure measurement of the blood not only in the fight side of the heart, but also in the lungs and the left side of the heart.
Synergy (Movement)	Combined action of two or more muscles to from a pattern of movement.

Click here for the printable "Glossary of Terms"

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