Students with Traumatic Brain Injury ESE 380 April 9, 2009

IDEA Definition of Traumatic Brain Injury “...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 to brain injuries induced by birth trauma

Causes of Traumatic Brain Injury

Traumatic Brain Injury v. Acquired Brain Injury Acquired brain injury is defined as damage to the brain that occurs after birth and is not related to a congenital disorder or a degenerative disease. Damage may be caused by a traumatic injury to the head or by a non-traumatic cause such as a tumor, aneurysm, anoxia or infection.

Causes of Acquired Brain Injury Airway obstruction Near-drowning, throat swelling, choking, strangulation, crush injuries to the chest Electrical shock or lightning strike Trauma to the head and/or neck Traumatic brain injury with or without skull fracture, blood loss from open wounds, artery impingement from forceful impact, shock Vascular Disruption Heart attack, stroke, arteriovenous malformation (AVM), aneurysm, intracranial surgery Infectious disease, intracranial tumors, metabolic disorders Meningitis, certain venereal diseases, AIDS, insect-carried diseases, brain tumors, hypo/hyperglycemia, hepatic encephalopathy, uremic encephalopathy, seizure disorders Toxic exposure- poisonous chemicals and gases, such as carbon monoxide poisoning

Educational Implications of TBI Cognitive functioning often partially resolved within 3 months Physical affects may include spasticity, rigidity, and ataxia Coordination problems, weakness, and fatigue may also be present Headaches common Vision and hearing problems Perceptual impairment

Disruptions in higher-order social cognition tasks such as understanding ambiguous emotions and instructions Disruptions in executive functioning associated with reasoning, abstract thinking, and organizational skills Cognitive Implications of TBI

Communication Implications of TBI Challenges with receptive and expressive language skills Ability to track individual and group conversations Difficulty in pronunciation Dysnomia Speech pacing

Behavioral Implications of TBI Aggression, agitation, and anxiety Depression PTSD Sense of loss and grief Lowered self-concept and confidence Difficulty with social relationships

Causes of TI Accidents Falls Violence-related Sports and recreation

Accidents Leading cause of TBI that requires victim to be hospitalized Automobile Bicycle Vehicle-pedestrian

Falls Beds Chairs Tables Shopping carts Playground equipment

Violence Assault Attempted suicide Child abuse Shaken baby syndrome

Violence Statistics Teenagers, especially males, are more likely to die from TBI than are any other people. Shootings cause less than 10 percent of all TBI yet are the leading cause of death-related TBI. Teenagers and people over age 75 are more likely than any other people to sustain TBI because of a motor vehicle crash or violence.

Some Statistics on TBI in Children Violence accounts for the majority of children’s head injuries 80% of all deaths due to TBI in children under 2 result from non-accidental causes ¾ of all cases of abuse involving children under the age of three result in TBI

Sports and Recreation sledding Skiing, Snowboarding Diving Skateboarding Playing contact sports Being hit by a ball

Some General Statistics 1.4 million individuals experience a brain injury every year. This is more than the total of breast cancer, HIV and AIDS, spinal cord injury and Multiple Sclerosis combined Approximately 75 percent of individuals who have TBI have a mild version Males are approximately twice as likely to sustain a TBI as contrasted to females 29 percent of individuals who experience a moderate or severe TBI die within 30 days of the accident