Brain Interrupted

Raising Awareness for Early Identification of Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI)

Signs and Symptoms

How to Help and What to Do

Children and Adults:

  • A change in eating habits
  • An overall change in mood: an easy, unusual irritability; sadness
  • Inability to be consoled; persistent, out of the ordinary crying
  • Difficulty paying attention or following direction
  • A change in sleep patterns
  • Seizures (which might be difficult to detect)
  • Drowsiness, excessive fatigue, sleeping more than usual
  • Headaches
  • Hyperfocus that isn’t easily distracted; perseveration
  • Sensory overload; avoidance / discomfort
  • Agitation

Symptoms Affecting Learning:

  • Can occur years after injury is sustained
  • Difficulty with concentration
  • Problems and / or delays with information processing
  • Distractability (noise in classroom, etc.)
  • Differential between measured aptitude and failures to succeed.
  • Synesthesia

Family

What family members can do:

  • Be aware of sudden personality or behavioral changes – even if you are unaware of an injury.
  • Be persistent and determined in uncovering the cause of the persons sudden but lasting behavioral, social and/or educational difficulties.
  • Lend support and encouragement to one another while the cause is being determined.
  • Be proactive with the child’s pediatrician and teachers and school administrators.

Educators

Educators can help by recognizing signs and symptoms of TBI:

  • Lack of focus
  • Failure to achieve
  • Disparity between I.Q. and achievement
  • Language processing / reading
  • Social difficulties
  • Behavioral difficulties
    • Impulsivity
    • Agitation and Anxiety
    • Disinhibition

Medical Professionals

Tune in if the parents or guardians express concerns of sudden behavioral, personality or educational changes. 

Please take the parents or Guardians concerns seriously – they know the children better than anyone. 

Get involved. If you notice a SUDDEN change in the child’s behavior or ability to learn, inform school administrators and contact the parents or guardians. WIth closed-head TBI, the injury can be invisible; the parent or guardian might not realize an injury occurred.

Be aware that a TBI designated as “mild” can have devastating impact on the child’s ability to process information and succeed.