What should family members understand about independence after a spinal cord injury? - Anne Bryden, OT

I think the most important thing is for family members to understand that the person with the spinal cord injury wants to be independent, but may not be able to do everything independently early on. There’s a tendency for family members to want to help and do more in some cases and take over. Because, perhaps if they’re feeding their loved one, they’re doing it because they want to help and helps things go quicker. But, it might be more helpful for that person to do it on their own, even if it does take them a little longer to accomplish the task.