Final answer:
For a client with disturbed sensory perception due to a stroke, the nurse should approach them on the side with intact visual perception to support positive response and recovery. Sensory discrimination techniques identify damage locations and rehabilitation therapies improve functioning.
Step-by-step explanation:
When caring for a client who suffered an ischemic stroke and now has disturbed sensory perception, it is important to approach the client on the side where visual perception is intact. This is because the client is more likely to respond positively to stimuli that they can see and process correctly. The principle supports facilitating adaptation to sensory changes and encouraging the use of unaffected sensory pathways and motor functions to maintain awareness of the affected side and promote recovery.
In the case of a stroke resulting in the loss of lateral peripheral vision, or bilateral hemianopia, the patient would lose the ability to see objects to their right and left but not the superior and inferior fields. Understanding sensory discrimination helps in determining the level of damage, as this can pinpoint the area of injury by assessing which sensory functions remain intact and which are lost. Sensory assessment procedures like double simultaneous stimulation can identify deficits potentially in the cortex, particularly in the parietal lobe.
Assisting a stroke patient involves comprehensive rehabilitation including physical therapy, occupational therapy, and possibly speech therapy, depending on the nature of their deficits. This rehabilitation is crucial for improving functioning post-stroke, which may include exercises and activities designed to help the patient adjust to any sensory or motor losses and work towards regaining independence.