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Brain Injury
In Their Own Words
Cynthia Boyer, Ph.D
March 20, 2013
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BRAIN INJURY AWARENESS MONTH
• Awareness• Advocacy• Prevention
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Scope of the Problem• An estimated 5.3 million Americans –more than 2%
of the population – currently live with identified disabilities caused by TBI
• 2 million people sustain a brain injury every year
• Every 15 seconds someone sustains a TBI
• Leading cause of death until age 44
• 4th leading cause of death overall
• Each day 5,500 individuals sustain a TBI
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Prevalence
5.34.7
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Causes of TBI General Population
9% Unknown
28% Falls
20% Motor Vehicle/ Traffic
3% Pedal Cycle
11% Assult
19% Struck by/against
1% Suicide2% Other Transport
7% Other
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A Silent Epidemic
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Traumatic Brain Injury Is Not...• A new onset mental disorder• Just emotional stress• An acquired mental retardation• The effects of prolonged drug/alcohol abuse
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Severity of TBIModerate to Severe • 15% of all TBIs• Typically hospitalized• “Identified as a TBI”• Known and followed by
medical community
Mild • 85% of all TBIs• Seen ER or MD office• “Identified as a concussion” • Not followed by medical
community in many cases
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What happens in a TBI ?• Nerve fibers within specific areas of the brain
are severed…never to be regained
• Nerve fibers are stretched…resulting in inefficient and slowed functioning
• Onset of physical, cognitive and behavioral changes after the TBI reflect impaired functioning due to these broken or stretched nerve fibers
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Factors Influencing Recovery• Cause, location, and severity of injury• Length of coma and PTA• Time elapsed since the injury• Age of the individual• Intellectual level pre-injury• Personality characteristics pre-injury• Overall medical health
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Recovery…..
• Can take weeks, months, or years• Progresses most rapidly in the first six
months• Is slow and usually incomplete
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Risk of Repeat Brain Injuries
• After 1st TBI, risk of second injury is 3 times greater
• After 2nd, risk of third injury is 8 times greater
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AS HEAD INJURIES ACCUMULATE…
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Physical Problems• Overall slowing• Clumsiness • Decreased vision/hearing/smell• Dizziness• Headaches• Fatigue• Increased sensitivity to noise/bright lights
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Thinking Changes • Attention
• Reduced concentration• Reduced visual attention• Inability to divide attention
between competing tasks• Processing speed
• Slow thinking• Slow reading• Slow verbal and written
responses
• Communication• Difficulty finding the right
words, naming objects• Disorganized in
communication
• Learning and Memory • Information before injury is
intact• Reduced ability to remember
new information• Problems with learning new
skills
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Combined, TBI changes result in persons served…• Having difficulty remembering or learning new
information• Being inconsistent in their performance• Having poor judgment and decision making
abilities• Having difficulty generalizing to new situations• Lacking awareness of these difficulties
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Lack of Self Awareness
• Inability to accurately assess their own abilities
• Unaware of the impact of their behavior on others
• May result in overestimation of skills/abilities
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Lifestyle Changes
• Loss of Independence• Implementation and acceptance of
assistive devices/strategies
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Long Term Challenges Post TBI
Vocational and/or school failureFamily life/social relationships
collapseIncreased financial burden on
families and social service systemsAlcohol and drug abuseChronic depression/anxiety
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How Brain Injury issues “manifest” in the real world….• Mental fatigue• Slowed processing speed• Difficulty transferring
“new learning” into memory – affects sequential thinking
• Problems with Executive Function
• Social Skill problems
• Tired, “lazy”• Dragging work out• Inconsistent learning –
“you had it yesterday and not today, faking”
• Behavior problems, ADHD, messy,
• Can’t get along with others
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One World…for everyone
• Every brain is unique and every person with a brain injury is unique
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Thank You!