Article

Identifying learning styles of acquired brain injury (ABI) patients may
aid the learning process by tailoring to the patient's learning needs and
preferences. Currently, there is no learning style instrument for ABI patients.
We therefore determined the validity and feasibility of the Adapted Learning
Style Inventory (A-LSI) for patients with ABI. METHOD: We included 99 patients
with ABI and 42 healthy controls. Learning styles were determined and subgroups
were used to evaluate the validity of the A-LSI. Furthermore, rehabilitation
professionals' perceptions on learning style and the A-LSI were evaluated.
RESULTS: In the patient group, the A-LSI yielded the following learning styles: 4
doers, 54 observers, 2 deciders and 39 thinkers. A similar distribution was found
for the control group (3, 28, 0 and 11, respectively). Spearman correlations
revealed moderate internal validity. Content validity of the A-LSI was also
moderate; 11 out of 19 patients recognized themselves in their A-LSI learning
style. Furthermore, 12 rehabilitation professionals reported positive and
negative aspects of the A-LSI and suggestions for using learning style in
rehabilitation. CONCLUSIONS: Rehabilitation professionals were generally positive
about using learning style in ABI rehabilitation. This study, however, raises
doubts about the validity and feasibility of the A-LSI for this population.
IMPLICATIONS FOR REHABILITATION: Rehabilitation professionals are generally
positive about the assessment and implementation of learning style in
rehabilitation. The A-LSI seems to be an inappropriate learning style instrument
for individuals with ABI. There is a need for a more practical instrument to
assess learning style directly at start of rehabilitation.

Langue : ANGLAIS