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Rob Winningham
Ph.D.
Dr. Rob Winningham has 25 years of experience researching human memory and has largely focused on older adults and ways to enhance their mental functioning and quality of life. He creates brain stimulation activities for over 10,000 retirement communities and rehabilitation facilities as a part of Dr. Rob's Cranium Crunches on activityconnection.com and helps create cognitive stimulation video games for linkedsenior.com and other companies. Dr. Winningham has served as Dean of the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences and Chair of the Behavioral Sciences Divisions at Western Oregon University where he is also professor in both the Psychological Sciences and Gerontology Departments. Dr. Winningham received his Ph.D. in Neuroscience from Baylor University. He has trained thousands of professionals to offer high quality cognitive rehabilitation and therapy programs. In addition to publishing many peer-reviewed articles in the area of human memory, Dr. Winningham has been invited to given well over 1000 invited presentations about memory and aging at various conferences and workshops. His book, Train Your Brain: How to Maximize Memory Ability in Older Adulthood was published by Baywood Publishing and his latest book was published in 2016 and is entitled Cranium Crunches. For more information go to: www.robwinningham.com
Courses with Rob Winningham
Browse Course CatalogOverview of Memory and Cognition Changes with Aging
Presented by Rob Winningham, Ph.D.
Overview of Memory and Cognition Changes with Aging
Memory ability is determined by a multitude of factors, many of which are under our control. There are a number of problems that need to be addressed, including what factors can be manipulated, which interventions will be effective and for whom, all in an effort to maximize cognitive ability and therapeutic outcomes for all clients. We will discuss the Reserve Hypothesis, explanations as to why people who are more cognitively engaged have better cognitive ability, and whether we can intervene and help people improve their cognitive abilities. Dosing and prognoses, as a function of the severity of cognitive impairment, will also be addressed. This course is the first of a five-part series.
Neuropsychology of Aging
Presented by Rob Winningham, Ph.D.
Neuropsychology of Aging
How do we know what the underlying neurological causes of cognitive impairment (or unwanted behaviors) are? How do we know when a patient is capable of learning a new compensatory strategy or motor skill? In this course, we will discuss how and why cognitive abilities change, with normal aging and various types of dementia. How executive functioning (e.g., attention, inhibition, awareness) is related to one's ability to learn, remember, and control his/her behavior is explored. Strategies for therapists and others to modify their interventions to maximize cognitive ability and therapeutic outcomes will be presented. This course is the second of a five-part series.
Practical Strategies for Working with Cognitively Impaired Individuals
Presented by Rob Winningham, Ph.D.
Practical Strategies for Working with Cognitively Impaired Individuals
Many times cognitively impaired patients are unable to learn basic ideas and compensatory strategies, which impedes progress in learning new motor behaviors and reduces the ultimate efficacy of therapy. In this course, we will discuss many strategies and interventions designed to enhance some patients' abilities to encode new declarative memories. We will discuss short-term strategies that can be used without cognitive rehabilitation, and then we will discuss longer-term interventions. We will also work to overcome the possible challenge of creating interventions that yield improvements that generalize beyond the specific task or exercise done in the clinic. This course is the third of a five-part series.
Cognitive Rehab Strategies: Home Exercises, Individual & Group Therapy
Presented by Rob Winningham, Ph.D.
Cognitive Rehab Strategies: Home Exercises, Individual & Group Therapy
There is increasing evidence supporting the efficacy of cognitive rehabilitation interventions and cognitive stimulation programming. In this course, we will discuss some of that evidence and then explore a wide range of materials that can be used by therapists, caregivers, and others. It is important to know which types of exercises will exercise which cognitive abilities and parts of the brain, so as to target areas that need to be improved. Best practices will also be discussed to give attendees a wide range of skills and knowledge related to cognitive rehabilitation. This course is the fourth of a five-part series.
Responding to Unwanted Behaviors & Motivating Clients in Therapy
Presented by Rob Winningham, Ph.D.
Responding to Unwanted Behaviors & Motivating Clients in Therapy
Motivation is possibly the best predictor of therapeutic success among older adults with or without cognitive impairment. However, most therapists and practitioners have very little training in the psychology of motivation and how to maximize it. In this course, we will explore factors that affect motivation, including depression. Theories of motivation that can be used to design many interventions to maximize patient motivation for and engagement in the therapeutic process are discussed. Caregivers and medical professionals need as many tools as possible when it comes to reducing unwanted behaviors commonly seen in people who have dementia. We will discuss how memory ability and behavior affect the level of care needed and how to manage behavioral challenges to maximize independence and safety. Using the knowledge of these cognitive and behavioral changes, many techniques will be offered for preventing and responding to emotional outbursts and behavioral problems (e.g., redirection, knowing the person, music therapy and other more). This course is the fifth of a five-part series.
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