Traumatic Brain Injury

If you suspect or know that you or someone you love has suffered a TBI or Concussion, we recommend you have a comprehensive neuropsychological assessment completed by a trained Neuropsychologist. Symptoms can often persist for a long period and may include attention and memory problems, organization or time-management problems, balance or dizziness, headaches, as well as personality changes or impulsivity.

Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) is an insult to the brain caused by an external physical force that produces a diminished or altered state of consciousness.
Concussion or Diffuse Brain Injury is caused when shearing and twisting forces impact the brain. This most often happens as a result of a motor vehicle crash or sports injury. The mild injuries may not show up on Neuroimaging but can disrupt the normal structure of the brain and neural pathways.

The CDC indicates Traumatic brain injury has occured when there has been an injury to the head resulting in:
• disorientation
• confusion
• loss of consciousness
• amnesia

TBI may occur from:
• motor vehicle accident
• a fall
• sports injuries
• bicycle accident
• motorcycle accident
• any other significant injury which results in above symptoms

Chronic Symptoms of Mild to Moderate Closed Head Injury
• Depression
• Sleep Disturbances
• Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)
• Anxiety
• Chronic Headache
• Dizziness
• Agitation
• Impulsivity
• Distractibility
• Poor Memory
• Poor Concentration
• Change in Personality
• Feeling Disconnected
• Irrational feelings
• Uncontrollable anger

Statistics:
• Traumatic brain injury is the leading cause of death and disability in children and young adults.
• An estimated 5.3 million Americans - more than 2% of the country - are currently disabled due to traumatic brain injury.
• About 1.5 million Americans suffer a traumatic brain injury every year.
• More than 50,000 people die each year from traumatic brain injury.

Resources:
Read more from an online text by Dr. Glen Johnson, a Clinical Neuropsychologist in private practice. This popular online text for families and patients provides detailed but easy to understand descriptions of what it's like to deal with a traumatic brain injury. He discusses coping with the effects of traumatic brain injury and the prospects for getting better. http://www.tbiguide.com

These sections of the TBI guide discuss many serious chronic symptoms of TBI and coping strategies for each symptom.
• Memory
• Headaches
• Problems Getting Organized
• Getting Overloaded
• Sleep Disorders
• Fatigue
• Anger and Depression
• Word-finding

Other helpful resources:

This is a fact sheet on the causes and possible consequences of traumatic brain injury, provided by the Brain Injury Association of America. http://www.biatx.org/pdf/bi.pdf

This is a fact sheet on links between youth violence and traumatic brain injury provided by the Brain Injury Association of America. http://www.biatx.org/pdf/youth.pdf

This is a statement on brain injury and rehabilitation published by the National Institutes of Health in 1998. It provides an overview of the standard rehabilitation strategies for brain injury. http://consensus.nih.gov/cons/109/109_statement.htm

A great clearinghouse of books and other printed resources for people with brain injuries and their families. http://www.neuro.pmr.vcu.edu/

Check out a self-help column specifically written for brain injury patients and their families. http://www.neuro.pmr.vcu.edu/pat/index.htm

Talk to other patients with TBI and chat rooms and view message boards for TBI survivors and their families. http://tbichat.org/

The Brain Injury Association provides a collection of personal web sites, created by patients coping with TBI. http://www.biausa.org/Pages/links_resources.html#persons

This job site provides a service designed to help increase good employment opportunities for people with disabilities. Post your resume or look for a job. http://www.disABLEDperson.com/

Parrot Software is a provider of software programs that assist in rehabilitating brain injured patients. This software develops skills in areas such as Memory & Attention, Reading and Word Finding, Logic and Reading, and others. http://www.parrotsoftware.com/ Brain-Train

Cognitive Retraining software was developed over a 20-year period in a clinical setting providing outpatient services to clients diagnosed with acquired neurological disorders. The software addresses basic cognitive skills and helps train TBI patients in the skills required to obtain a job. http://www.brain-train.com/Brain%20Train/brain.htm

Stroke Family's speech and word-finding software helps in-home stroke patients practice talking at home using their own computer. They have a free online demo of the program. They also have products for stroke and TBI patients' families. http://www.strokefamily.org/