The Effects Of A Traumatic Brain Injury

Introduction In the United States alone, approximately 1.7 million individuals sustain a traumatic brain injury (TBI) each year (CDC, 2006). Of those 1.7 million, approximately 700,000 are adolescents, making them the age group most prone to experiencing a TBI (Ettel, Glang, Todis, & Davies, 2016). A TBI occurs when traumatic force causes damage to the brain whether it occur from the head hitting an external object, or when an object hits the head forcefully and potentially punctures brain tissue (NIH, 2016). Effects of a TBI can occur immediately, or develop over time, negatively impacting the individual’s cognitive, academic, physical, and social/behavioral aspects of life (Davies, Trunk, Kramer, 2014). These effects can negatively impact …show more content…
Instead, the students were more likely to achieve goals when the student receives support from family, peers, and professors (Bush et al., 2011). Therefore, implementing a discharge chairperson as a part of the patient, and future student’s team in the brain injury unit will encompass support from all areas. The discharge chairperson will meet with all professionals on the patient’s team including, but not limited to the: neurologist, speech-language pathologist, occupational therapist, physical therapist, patient, family, and direct contact with someone from the post secondary institution. The team will meet in order to discuss the importance of collaboration, discuss findings from all professional areas, and work on setting short and long term goals in order to promote the highest level of success for the student (Davies et al., 2011). The team will also discuss all accommodations that should be made in order to promote success including, but not limited to: extended test time, peer note takers, private testing rooms, oral versus written testing, and priority seating in classrooms (Davies et al, 2011; Volkers, 2015). Upon completion of the meeting, the discharge chairperson will complete a report that will outline all goals and accommodations that should be made, and each person on the team will sign the report in agreement. This report will then be emailed and reviewed with the university the student will be attended, and will eliminate the need for expensive testing procedures that universities sometimes require (Davies et al., 2011). Finally, by having each individual sign the report, they will acknowledge that they understand all of the goals and accommodations that need to be made. The discharge chairperson will also be available to