Traumatic Brain Injury(TBI)

Definition
"An acquired injury to the brain caused by an external physical force, resulting in total or partial functional disability or psychosocial impairment, or both, that adversely affects a child's educational performance. The term applies to open or closed head injuries resulting in impairments in one or more areas, such as cognition; language; memory; attention; reasoning; abstract thinking; judgment; problem-solving; sensory, perceptual and motor abilities; psychosocial behavior; physical functions; information processing; and speech. The term does not apply to brain injuries that are congenital or degenerative, or brain injuries induced by birth trauma. As with autism, traumatic brain injury (TBI) was added as a separate category of disability in 1990 under P.L. 101-476."-IDEA

Causes
There are many causes of traumatic brain injury. They include: car accidents, firearms, falls, open head injury, closed head injury, deceleration injury, chemical/toxic, hypoxia, tumors, infections, and stroke.

Incidence
Roughly 1.4 million people acquire a brain injury every year.

Resources
http://www.traumaticbraininjury.com/
http://www.ninds.nih.gov/disorders/tbi/tbi.htm
http://www.biausa.org/
http://www.braintrauma.org/
*http://nichcy.org/disability/specific/tbi
http://www.tbiguide.com/
http://www.allabouttbi.com/

Teaching Strategies

Find out as much as you can about the child’s injury and his or her present needs. Find out more about TBI through the resources and organizations listed below. These can help you identify specific techniques and strategies to support the student educationally.

Give the student more time to finish schoolwork and tests.

Give directions one step at a time. For tasks with many steps, it helps to give the student written directions.

Show the student how to perform new tasks. Give examples to go with new ideas and concepts.

Have consistent routines. This helps the student know what to expect. If the routine is going to change, let the student know ahead of time.

Check to make sure that the student has actually learned the new skill. Give the student lots of opportunities to practice the new skill.

Show the student how to use an assignment book and a daily schedule. This helps the student get organized.

Realize that the student may get tired quickly. Let the student rest as needed.

Reduce distractions.

Keep in touch with the student’s parents. Share information about how the student is doing at home and at school.

Be flexible about expectations. Be patient. Maximize the student’s chances for success.*