According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) is the leading cause of death and disability in children and adolescents, with those ages 0-4 and 15-19 most at risk.
TBI is an injury to the brain that happens after birth and is caused by an external force. Although falls and motor vehicle accidents are responsible for more than half of all TBIs, they are not the only causes of brain injury. Other causes of TBI include sports injuries, physical abuse, and assault.
Many brain injuries are non-traumatic brain injuries. A non-traumatic brain injury refers to any injury to the brain that is sustained after birth. These injuries can result from:
- Infectious diseases (encephalitis, meningitis)
- Metabolic disorders
- Endocrine disorders
- Diminished oxygen (anoxia)
- Brain tumors
- Diseases and conditions affecting blood supply to the brain (stroke)
- Aneurism and strokes
The May Center School for Brain Injury and Neurobehavioral Disorders in Norwood, Mass., serves students with all of these diagnoses as well as seizure disorders and brain injuries of unknown etiology. The school’s multidisciplinary team of specialists has expertise in educating, rehabilitating, and responding to the unique behavioral needs of students with varied presentations who have sustained a brain injury.
Treatment for acquired brain injuries (TBI and non-TBI brain injuries) varies based on the injury, age, and physical condition of the individual involved. Ideally, treatment begins as soon as possible after a brain injury occurs following consultations with healthcare providers who can recommend a comprehensive course of action. This plan may include occupational, physical, and speech therapy, and applied behavior analysis (ABA). ABA is a methodology that uses applied scientific interventions to address behavioral needs. ABA therapists employ techniques such as positive reinforcement, teaching in small steps, and repeated practice.
Therapists and other professionals who work with people who have brain injuries focus on stimulating and enhancing their clients’ thinking abilities and teaching them techniques to compensate for deficits and lost skills. Children and adolescents may require special education and modifications to the classroom when they return to school. Individuals of all ages often benefit from counseling following a life-altering brain injury.
Effective treatments help people with brain injury make significant progress in regaining skills and becoming more independent, and offer much cause for hope.
Those of us who care for and about individuals with brain injuries are also strong proponents of brain injury prevention. Parents should make sure the home is safe by installing window guards to prevent falls, installing safety gates on stairs, securing area rugs, and putting rubber mats in bathtubs. Children should be supervised at all times and follow safety rules at water parks, swimming pools, and public beaches. And firearms should be unloaded and stored in a locked cabinet/safe, with ammunition stored separately.
We also join with the Brain Injury Association of America (BIAA) in recommending the following for children and adolescents:
- wearing seat belts at all times
- following recommended guidelines around using car seats and booster seats
- wearing properly fitting helmets when riding bikes, roller skating/roller blading, skateboarding, etc.
- using shock-absorbing materials on playgrounds (and performing regular safety checks) to lessen the impact of falls
For more information, visit these websites:
The Brain Injury Association of America
https://www.biausa.org
The Brain Injury Association of Massachusetts
http://www.biama.org
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
http://www.cdc.gov/headsup/basics/index.html
By Jennifer Silber-Carr, Ph.D., BCBA-D
May Institute is a nonprofit organization that is a national leader in the field of applied behavior analysis and evidence-based interventions, serving autistic individuals and those with other developmental disabilities, brain injury and neurobehavioral disorders, and other special needs. Founded nearly 70 years ago, we provide a wide range of exceptional educational and rehabilitative services across the lifespan. In addition to its school for children and adolescents with brain injury and neurobehavioral disorders, May Institute operates five schools for children and adolescents with ASD and other developmental disabilities. For more information, call 800.778.7601 or visit www.mayinstitute.org.
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