The Rancho Los Amigos Levels of Cognitive Functioning Scale is a renowned clinical tool used to rate how people with brain injury are recovering. The 10 levels of recovery noted in the scale also help to decide when a patient is ready for rehabilitation. As patients "wake up" after a head injury, they go through different levels of recovery on the Rancho Scale. Each level describes a general pattern of recovery, with a focus on cognition and behavior.
Complete absence of observable change in behavior when presented visual, auditory, tactile, proprioceptive, vestibular, or painful stimuli
Demonstrates generalized reflex response to painful stimuli
Responds to repeated auditory stimuli with increased or decreased activity
Responds to external stimuli with physiological changes generalized, gross body movement, and/or not purposeful vocalization
Responses noted above may be same regardless of type and location of stimulation
Responses may be significantly delayed
Demonstrates withdrawal or vocalization to painful stimuli
Turns toward or away from auditory stimuli
Blinks when strong light crosses visual field
Follows moving object passed within visual field
Responds to discomfort by pulling tubes or restraints
Responds inconsistently to simple commands
Responses directly related to type of stimulus
May respond to some persons (especially family and friends) but not to others
Alert and in heightened state of activity
Purposeful attempts to remove restraints or tubes or crawl out of bed
May perform motor activities such as sitting, reaching, and walking but without any apparent purpose or upon another's request
Very brief and usually nonpurposeful moments of sustained alternatives and divided attention
Absent short-term memory
May cry out or scream out of proportion to stimulus even after its removal
May exhibit aggressive or flight behavior
Mood may swing from euphoric to hostile with no apparent relationship to environmental events
Unable to cooperate with treatment efforts
Verbalizations are frequently incoherent and/or inappropriate to activity or environment
Alert, not agitated but may wander randomly or with a vague intention of going home
May become agitated in response to external stimulation and/or lack of environmental structure
Not oriented to person, place, or time
Frequent brief periods, nonpurposeful sustained attention
Severely impaired recent memory, with confusion of past and present in reaction to ongoing activity
Absent goal-directed, problem-solving, self-monitoring behavior
Often demonstrates inappropriate use of objects without external direction
May be able to perform previously learned tasks when structure and cues provided
Unable to learn new information
Able to respond appropriately to simple commands fairly consistently with external structures and cues
Responses to simple commands without external structure are random and nonpurposeful in relation to command
Able to converse on a social automatic level for brief periods of time when provided external structure and cues
Verbalizations about present events become inappropriate and confabulatory when external structure and cues are not provided
Inconsistently oriented to person, time, and place
Able to attend to highly familiar tasks in nondistracting environment for 30 minutes with moderate redirection
Remote memory has more depth and detail than recent memory
Vague recognition of some staff
Able to use assistive memory aid with maximum assistance
Emerging awareness of appropriate response to self, family, and basic needs
Moderate assist to problem solve barriers to task completion
Supervised for old learning (eg, self care)
Shows carry over for relearned familiar tasks (eg, self care)
Maximum assistance for new learning with little or no carry over
Unaware of impairments, disabilities, and safety risks
Consistently follows simple directions
Verbal expressions are appropriate in highly familiar and structured situations
Consistently oriented to person and place within highly familiar environments; moderate assistance for orientation to time
Able to attend to highly familiar tasks in a nondistraction environment for at least 30 minutes with minimal assist to complete tasks
Minimal supervision for new learning
Demonstrates carry over of new learning
Initiates and carries out steps to complete familiar personal and household routine but has shallow recall of what he/she has been doing
Able to monitor accuracy and completeness of each step in routine personal and household activities of daily living (ADLs) and modify plan with minimal assistance
Superficial awareness of his/her condition but unaware of specific impairments and disabilities and the limits they place on his/her ability to safely, accurately, and completely carry out his/her household, community, work, and leisure ADLs
Minimal supervision for safety in routine home and community activities
Unrealistic planning for the future
Unable to think about consequences of a decision or action
Overestimates abilities
Unaware of others' needs and feelings
Oppositional/uncooperative
Unable to recognize inappropriate social interaction behavior
Consistently oriented to person, place, and time
Independently attends to and completes familiar tasks for 1 hour in distracting environments
Able to recall and integrate past and recent events
Uses assistive memory devices to recall daily schedule, to-do lists, and record critical information for later use with standby assistance
Initiates and carries out steps to complete familiar personal, household, community, work, and leisure routines with standby assistance and can modify the plan when needed with minimal assistance
Requires no assistance once new tasks/activities are learned
Aware of and acknowledges impairments and disabilities when they interfere with task completion but requires standby assistance to take appropriate corrective action
Thinks about consequences of a decision or action with minimal assistance
Overestimates or underestimates abilities
Acknowledges others' needs and feelings and responds appropriately with minimal assistance
Depressed
Irritable
Low frustration tolerance/easily angered
Argumentative
Self-centered
Uncharacteristically dependent/independent
Able to recognize and acknowledge inappropriate social interaction behavior while it is occurring and takes corrective action with minimal assistance
Independently shifts back and forth between tasks and completes them accurately for at least 2 consecutive hours
Uses assistive memory devices to recall daily schedule, "to do" lists, and record critical information for later use with assistance when requested
Initiates and carries out steps to complete familiar personal, household, work, and leisure tasks independently and unfamiliar personal, household, work, and leisure tasks with assistance when requested
Aware of and acknowledges impairments and disabilities when they interfere with task completion and takes appropriate corrective action but requires stand-by assistance to anticipate a problem before it occurs and take action to avoid it
Able to think about consequences of decisions or actions with assistance when requested
Accurately estimates abilities but requires stand-by assistance to adjust to task demands
Acknowledges others' needs and feelings and responds appropriately with standby assistance
Depression may continue
May be easily irritable
May have low frustration tolerance
Able to self monitor appropriateness of social interaction with stand-by assistance
Able to handle multiple tasks simultaneously in all environments but may require periodic breaks
Able to independently procure, create, and maintain own assistive memory devices
Independently initiates and carries out steps to complete familiar and unfamiliar personal, household, community, work, and leisure tasks but may require more than usual amount of time and/or compensatory strategies to complete them
Anticipates impact of impairments and disabilities on ability to complete daily living tasks and takes action to avoid problems before they occur but may require more than usual amount of time and/or compensatory strategies
Able to independently think about consequences of decisions or actions but may require more than usual amount of time and/or compensatory strategies to select the appropriate decision or action
Accurately estimates abilities and independently adjusts to task demands
Able to recognize the needs and feelings of others and automatically respond in appropriate manner
Periodic periods of depression may occur
Irritability and low frustration tolerance when sick, fatigued, and/or under emotional stress
Social interaction behavior is consistently appropriate
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