March is Brain Injury Awareness Month
During the month of March, and throughout the year, Children's raises awareness across its various programs about the effects of traumatic and acquired brain injury.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), it is estimated that 1.4 million people sustain a traumatic brain injury in the United States each year. These traumatic brain injuries are the result of an external physical force; while other brain injuries are acquired from airway obstruction, near drowning, electrical shock, heart attack, stroke, infectious diseases and toxic exposures. The two age groups at highest risk for TBI are zero to four year olds and 15 to 19 year olds.
This year, the Brain Injury Association of America is launching a year-long, nationwide education and advocacy campaign: “A concussion is a brain injury. Get the facts.” A state advocacy effort to introduce legislation to train coaches and protect youth athletes will continue throughout the year along with ongoing nationwide education.
Children's Concussion Clinics
Children’s has two different clinics depending on the type of concussion. Children’s Rehabilitation Associates offers a Physiatry Concussion Clinic for children and teenagers who have sustained concussions and other mild head injuries. The clinic focus is to evaluate and treat medical problems associated with the head injury and make recommendations on returning to previous activity level.
The Sports Concussion Clinic is designed to address the specific needs of middle school, high school or elite athletes who have suffered head injuries from accidents, sports or other activities. The program offers educational and preventative information for community coaches, schools, athletic trainers and sports clubs about early recognition of the signs and symptoms of concussions. The team uses Immediate Postconcussion Assessment and Cognitive Testing (ImPACT), which is a computer-based evaluation that tests neurocognitive status (memory, reaction time, problem solving).
Both concussion clinics work closely with neuropsychology to assess potential problems with attention and memory or behavioral problems that may occur after the injury.
Children's Brain Injury Program
When appropriate and prescribed by the physician, therapy after brain injury can be invaluable for the patient's recovery. Our Brain Injury Program focuses on improving a myriad of skills to enable the patient to regain more independence in daily living. Skills related to mobility, balance, coordination, strength, eye-hand coordination, increasing independence with activities of daily living and school-related skills, thinking skills, speech and communication, memory, social communication, problem solving and behavior management may be the focus of therapies. For teens who want to safely return to driving an automobile, the Driver Rehabilitation Program evaluates a patient’s driving skills through clinical evaluation and behind-the-wheel assessment and training.