The Stories of 2 Different Children

     Please watch this touching video about two different children that suffered a traumatic brain injury. These children are suffering from very different deficits after their injury. As stated in the video, the Centers for Disease Control states that brain injury is the most frequent cause of disability and death amongst children and adolescents in the United States. The main effects of a TBI on children is the tendency to become impulsive, have outbursts and difficulty sustaining focus.

Brandon
     Brandon was four years old and playing at the park with his father and older brother. He was struck on the top of his skull with a baseball. He spent a week in the hospital with a depressed skull fracture. When he was released, the doctors were unsure if there would be any long term effects.
     Brandon is now eleven years old. He is in a Special Education classroom and suffers cognitive and behavioral issues. His parents, Mary and Randy, noticed a change in Brandon pretty soon after returning home from the hospital. He was not the Brandon they knew. They noticed behavior problems such as violence and verbal threats. Mary and Randy took their son for a neuropsychological evaluation and it found that there were cognitive and behavioral changes that will be long term.
     Brandon currently takes medication that helps control his negative behaviors. He receives Medicaid and Home & Community based services from the Office for People With Developmental Disabilities (OPWDD). These services include; service coordination, respite/residential habilitation and behavior intervention. These services help, but Brandon's long term disabilities effect himself, his parents and older brother on a regular basis. In the video, Brandon says he is trying to do better to not get so mad. Due to the TBI, Brandon cannot help it.

Allie
     Allie is a seventeen year old student. Prior to her injury, she was very socially active and had a busy life. She enjoyed school, dancing and track. At the age of fifteen, Allie was thrown on her head on a wood floor during dance class. She was seen by a doctor and sent home with a concussion.
     Soon after her accident, Allie and her family noticed some problems that were not present before. She was suffering from short term memory loss and would forget things after about twenty seconds. She could not handle too much information or stimulation at once and it would cause her to get confused. Allie suffered from such terrible headaches that she spent most of her time in her bedroom with the lights out from June through September.
     Allie's parents began researching the internet for help and came across the New York State Brain Injury Association. There, they got information about a program called FACTS. FACTS is The Family Advocacy Counseling and Training Services Program. This program helped Allie and her family tremendously. They offered family support, referrals, information and training. A FACTS coordinator was assigned to Allie. This person met with Allie's school and teachers to train them on how to better assist Allie after her injury. A 504 Plan was put together for Allie. This plan is used to ensure and identify accommodations that a student needs in order to be successful in school.
     Allie was the type of student that never had to study in order to do well. Now she must. She must work extremely hard to retain information and do well in school. She refers to herself in the video as an extremely motivated person. She has learned to advocate for herself and ensure she receives the assistance she needs. Allie now has very little time for a broad social life because she has to work so hard in school. Allie continues to have dreams for her future that she works towards.

     The two children interviewed and discussed in the video are suffering from different deficits caused by the traumatic brain injury. Brandon's injury has negatively effected his personality and behavior. Allie's injury has changed her style of learning and has made it difficult for her to retain information the way that she used to. As stated in previous blogs, the severity of the effects and impact on one's life is dependent upon the severity and location of the injury.

If the video cannot be viewed here, please click on the link below:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l5YBR1zQpQg