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Characteristics
Traumatic Brain Injury is a condition caused by a head injury that results in lasting damage to the brain. This injury disrupts normal brain functioning and may permanently impact how a person acts, moves, and/or thinks.
Traumatic brain injury is one of the categories of disability specified in IDEA. This means that a child with traumatic brain injury may be eligible for special education and related services if it adversely affects their education.
A traumatic brain injury often impacts functioning in the following areas:
Memory and cognition, social skills, emotional regulation, attention, behavior, speech and language, and physical health.
| Memory and Cognition |
 Difficulty with logic, problem solving, and reasoning- Slower to respond, react and complete activities and tasks
- Difficulty remembering facts, procedures, events, etc.
- Frequently struggles with grade level work
- Difficulty storing new information, working memory deficits
- Difficulty retrieving old information
- May be disoriented with time, places, and people
- Difficulty sequencing events
- Physical and verbal perseverations (repeating a word, phrase, or action, over and over again)
- Poor judgment and reasoning skills
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| Social Skills and Emotional Regulation |
 Inappropriate social behaviors- Emotional responses may be unpredictable in nature and severity
- Difficulty regulating emotions
- May struggle to accurately interpret verbal and non-verbal cues
- Emotional responses may not "fit" the situation
- Emotional instability (happy one moment, sad the next)
- May exhibit signs of poor self-concept, depression, isolation, withdrawal, and paranoia
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| Inattention and Impulsivity |
 Difficulty focusing attention- May have difficulty controlling impulses, thoughts, and feelings
- Injury and memory loss may impact successful use of behavior modification strategies
- Distracted by internal and external events and thoughts
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| Speech & Language |
 May have speech and language deficits (should be checked frequently)- Difficulty speaking words or phrases
- Difficulty comprehending what others say
- May struggle to follow multi-step instructions
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| Physical |
 May struggle to process visual information (visual perceptual issues)- May experience visual deficits such as double vision and partial loss of vision
- May have visual "blind spots"
- Possible coma could produce some slowing and lethargy
- Seizures are common following a head injury, and seizure medication may cause “cognitive dulling”
- Difficulty staying awake
- Inability to recognize post-injury deficits
- Possible gross or fine motor deficits depending on what part of the brain was injured (may have some paralysis)
- Short periods of disorientation or attention lapse
- May tire frequently and quickly
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| The symptoms of TBI can range in severity from mild to severe. |
Mild TBI:
- Fatigue
- Headaches
- Visual disturbances
- Memory loss
- Poor attention/concentration
- Sleep disturbances
- Dizziness/loss of balance
- Irritability/emotional disturbances
- Feelings of depression
- Seizures
- Possible coma
- Nausea
- Loss of smell
- Sensitivity to light and sounds
- Mood changes
- Getting lost or confused
- Slowness in thinking
Moderate TBI:
- Results in permanent brain damage
- Produces lifelong deficits (to varying degrees)
- Death may occur
- Seizures
- Coma (to varying degrees)
- Confusion
- Difficulty with "thinking skills" (memory, attention, judgment)
- Blurred vision, loss of vision
- Change in hearing acuity
- Ringing in ears
- Slurred speech
- Difficulty understanding spoken language
- Difficulty processing sensory input (touch, smell, hearing, etc.)
- Personality changes
- Loss of taste and/or smell
- Paralysis
- Lethargy
- Loss of bowel/bladder control
- Dizziness
- Inappropriate emotional responses
Severe TBI:
- Results in significant permanent brain damage
- May result in total loss of speech ability
- Produces lifelong deficits to a severe degree
- May require lifetime care and assistance
- Sustained loss of consciousness
- Can result in death
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Strategies for Traumatic Brain Injury
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