Certified Brain Injury Specialist (CBIS) Exam
Guide - Part II 2026 Edition
• CHART-SF -✓✓ Craig Handicap Assessment and Reporting Techniques - Short
Form; objective assessment of a person's engagement in roles within society; first
made in 1992 and later revised in 1999
• M2P2 (MPAI-4) -✓✓ Mayo Portland Adaptability Inventory-4 Participation
Index; designed to track post-acute rehab outcomes of both children and adults
with TBI
• PART-O -✓✓ Participation Assessment with Recombined Tools-Objective;
developed by TBIMS, measures the frequency of engagement or level of
involvement in an activity
• What are three outcome measures used in post-acute rehabilitation? -✓✓
CHART-SF, MPAI-4, PART-O
• Participation -✓✓ term used to described engagement in social roles -- a critical
component of the WHO-ICF biopsychosocial model
• What are three outcome measures used in acute rehabilitation? -✓✓ DRS,
Rancho Los Amigos Scale, FIM/FAM
• What are five outcome measures used early after injury to gauge cognitive status?
-✓✓ GCS, GOAT, O-Log, CRS-R, AIS
,• community enfranchisement -✓✓ relatively new concept involving the extend to
which the person feels he or she has options and control over participation, feels a
part of the community, and feels valued
• MCID -✓✓ minimal clinically important differences; relevant in participation to
evaluate effectiveness of interventions in controlled studies
• Post-injury employment rates -✓✓ Reported at less than 10-40% post-injury
• "Gold standard" in measuring success in rehabilitation -✓✓ Return to work
• Return to work risk factors -✓✓ more severe injury, older age at time of injury,
being male, lower levels of pre-injury educational or occupational status, lack of
social support, significant physical, psycho-social, or cognitive impairments, being
of a minority race, history of substance abuse
• Return to work models -✓✓ supported employment, comprehensive integrated
day treatment, medical-vocational case coordination model
• Comprehensive integrated day treatment model for RTW -✓✓ includes
individual and group therapies as well as vocational trials and supported
employment; developed by Prigatano and Ben-Yishay; demonstrated employment
rates as high as 50-85%
• Vocational case coordination model to RTW -✓✓ Developed by Malec and
colleagues; services included in this model include early identification and
hospital-based vocational case coordination, early medical and vocational
rehabilitation interventions, work trials, employer education, temporary work
,support, and supported employment; 80%+ of those receiving VCC were employed
in the community
• Resource facilitation -✓✓ a partnership that helps people and communities
choose, get and keep information, services, and supports to make informed choices
and meet their goals; can reduce barriers and increase timely access to resources to
improve employment outcomes
• Supported employment model to RTW -✓✓ emphasizes the use of a vocational
rehabilitation professional, known as an employment specialist or job coach, to
provide intensive individualized assistance to help him or her with gaining and
maintaining employment in a real job for real pay in the community
• True or false: Supported Employment Services are authorized under the
Rehabilitation Act and are a service option under State Vocational Rehabilitation
(VR) services -✓✓ True
• What are typical services offered by an employment specialist? -✓✓ assessment,
job development, on the job training and support, case management, and long-term
follow along
• The Rehabilitation Act of 1973 as amended in 1998 -✓✓ provided federal grants
to states to operate comprehensive programs of VR services to persons with
disabilities -- should be considered a core resource for persons with TBI
• State VR services continuum -✓✓ Minimal intervention, education and
preparation, advocacy level services, and workplace supports
, • Practical strategies to enhance outcomes for persons with TBI + employment -
✓✓ work towards forming a coordinated system of care and community re-entry
with timely VR referrals; request and obtain neuropsych evals and vocational
assessments that are functional/relevant; understand that services must be
individualized to the situation at hand; provision of 1-time services are often
inadequate; supported employment cannot be implement without funding to
provide long-term follow-up; providing vocational support to TBI pts is often
complex and multifaceted in nature
• Measurement definition -✓✓ the assignment of numbers to objects or events;
consistent and accurate measurements allow for specific descriptions of individuals
with BI and for comparison to others and to their own progress over time
• Psychometric properties -✓✓ refer to a given instrument's validity and reliability
• Reliability -✓✓ looks at how similar a rating would be comparing Therapist 1
and Therapist 2 when they assess the same person
• Validity -✓✓ looks at whether an instrument is measuring what it intended to
measure
• Common Data Elements (CDE) -✓✓ a standardized set of measure to be used in
the assessment of persons with brain injuries
• Floor effect -✓✓ when the assessment is too challenging and many individuals
receive the lowest score (e.g., rating the capability of someone who is comatose on
the ability to climb stairs)
Guide - Part II 2026 Edition
• CHART-SF -✓✓ Craig Handicap Assessment and Reporting Techniques - Short
Form; objective assessment of a person's engagement in roles within society; first
made in 1992 and later revised in 1999
• M2P2 (MPAI-4) -✓✓ Mayo Portland Adaptability Inventory-4 Participation
Index; designed to track post-acute rehab outcomes of both children and adults
with TBI
• PART-O -✓✓ Participation Assessment with Recombined Tools-Objective;
developed by TBIMS, measures the frequency of engagement or level of
involvement in an activity
• What are three outcome measures used in post-acute rehabilitation? -✓✓
CHART-SF, MPAI-4, PART-O
• Participation -✓✓ term used to described engagement in social roles -- a critical
component of the WHO-ICF biopsychosocial model
• What are three outcome measures used in acute rehabilitation? -✓✓ DRS,
Rancho Los Amigos Scale, FIM/FAM
• What are five outcome measures used early after injury to gauge cognitive status?
-✓✓ GCS, GOAT, O-Log, CRS-R, AIS
,• community enfranchisement -✓✓ relatively new concept involving the extend to
which the person feels he or she has options and control over participation, feels a
part of the community, and feels valued
• MCID -✓✓ minimal clinically important differences; relevant in participation to
evaluate effectiveness of interventions in controlled studies
• Post-injury employment rates -✓✓ Reported at less than 10-40% post-injury
• "Gold standard" in measuring success in rehabilitation -✓✓ Return to work
• Return to work risk factors -✓✓ more severe injury, older age at time of injury,
being male, lower levels of pre-injury educational or occupational status, lack of
social support, significant physical, psycho-social, or cognitive impairments, being
of a minority race, history of substance abuse
• Return to work models -✓✓ supported employment, comprehensive integrated
day treatment, medical-vocational case coordination model
• Comprehensive integrated day treatment model for RTW -✓✓ includes
individual and group therapies as well as vocational trials and supported
employment; developed by Prigatano and Ben-Yishay; demonstrated employment
rates as high as 50-85%
• Vocational case coordination model to RTW -✓✓ Developed by Malec and
colleagues; services included in this model include early identification and
hospital-based vocational case coordination, early medical and vocational
rehabilitation interventions, work trials, employer education, temporary work
,support, and supported employment; 80%+ of those receiving VCC were employed
in the community
• Resource facilitation -✓✓ a partnership that helps people and communities
choose, get and keep information, services, and supports to make informed choices
and meet their goals; can reduce barriers and increase timely access to resources to
improve employment outcomes
• Supported employment model to RTW -✓✓ emphasizes the use of a vocational
rehabilitation professional, known as an employment specialist or job coach, to
provide intensive individualized assistance to help him or her with gaining and
maintaining employment in a real job for real pay in the community
• True or false: Supported Employment Services are authorized under the
Rehabilitation Act and are a service option under State Vocational Rehabilitation
(VR) services -✓✓ True
• What are typical services offered by an employment specialist? -✓✓ assessment,
job development, on the job training and support, case management, and long-term
follow along
• The Rehabilitation Act of 1973 as amended in 1998 -✓✓ provided federal grants
to states to operate comprehensive programs of VR services to persons with
disabilities -- should be considered a core resource for persons with TBI
• State VR services continuum -✓✓ Minimal intervention, education and
preparation, advocacy level services, and workplace supports
, • Practical strategies to enhance outcomes for persons with TBI + employment -
✓✓ work towards forming a coordinated system of care and community re-entry
with timely VR referrals; request and obtain neuropsych evals and vocational
assessments that are functional/relevant; understand that services must be
individualized to the situation at hand; provision of 1-time services are often
inadequate; supported employment cannot be implement without funding to
provide long-term follow-up; providing vocational support to TBI pts is often
complex and multifaceted in nature
• Measurement definition -✓✓ the assignment of numbers to objects or events;
consistent and accurate measurements allow for specific descriptions of individuals
with BI and for comparison to others and to their own progress over time
• Psychometric properties -✓✓ refer to a given instrument's validity and reliability
• Reliability -✓✓ looks at how similar a rating would be comparing Therapist 1
and Therapist 2 when they assess the same person
• Validity -✓✓ looks at whether an instrument is measuring what it intended to
measure
• Common Data Elements (CDE) -✓✓ a standardized set of measure to be used in
the assessment of persons with brain injuries
• Floor effect -✓✓ when the assessment is too challenging and many individuals
receive the lowest score (e.g., rating the capability of someone who is comatose on
the ability to climb stairs)
