Children With Traumatic Brain Injury: A Parent's Guide (The Special Needs Collection)

Children With Traumatic Brain Injury: A Parent's Guide (The Special Needs Collection)

Children with Traumatic Brain Injury is a comprehensive, must-have reference that provides parents with the support and information they need to help their child recover from a closed-head injury and prevent further incidents. Coping with traumatic brain injury (TBI) involves a complex process of readjustment to the changes in a once healthy child and affects everyone in the family. Traumatic brain injury occurs when the brain abruptly and violently moves within the skull as a result of extreme force to the head during an automobile, biking, or playground accident, for example. The effects of TBI can range from mild to severe and recovery can take from weeks to years. Although each child's condition is unique, all TBI patients experience impairment in one or more of the following areas: cognition; speech-language; emotion/behavior; and motor skills. While TBI can happen to anyone, children, particularly teens, are susceptible. And, children who have already had one TBI are at greatest risk. Written by a team of medical specialists, therapists, educators, and an attorney, Children with Traumatic Brain Injury covers: What is traumatic brain injury?; Medical concerns; Rehabilitation and treatments; Coping and adjustment; Effects on learning and thinking, speech and language, behavior; Educational needs; and legal issues. Throughout the book, a case study of a boy who was injured at age eight, illustrates the effects of TBI on education, socialization and independence. Parent statements at the end of each chapter attest to the variety of response families have, and offer insight about the experience of raising a child with TBI. A resource guide of support and advocacy organizations, a reading list, and glossary round out this authoritative guide. Children with Traumatic Brain Injury is useful to professionals who provide services to children with TBI and their families. General and special educators will find it essential reading to help their students with TBI. But most of all, Children with Traumatic Brain Injury gives parents the hope and facts they need to improve the outcome of their child's recovery. From Library Journal This is a comprehensive resource for families and professionals working with children and adolescents who have sustained a traumatic brain injury (TBI). Editor Schoenbrodt, chair of the department of speech pathology/audiology at Loyola College and a speech and language pathologist specializing in the treatment of children with TBI and language-learning disabilities, presents a lengthy but very readable overview. Ten chapters, all written by medical specialists, educators, and a lawyer, cover a broad range of issues relating to medical treatment; coping and adjustment; the effects on cognition, speech, and language; the resulting behaviors and their modification; educational needs; and legal concerns. Graphs and charts are provided for parents and caretakers. Most chapters feature a portion of a representative case study of a boy who sustained serious closed-head trauma at the age of eight. Throughout, statements made by parents of other children who have suffered TBI add a personal perspective. Intended to offer reassurance and practical information, this work successfully presents complex medical concepts and terminology in a most understandable context and would be an excellent resource for parents as well as rehabilitation professionals. Highly recommended. Deborah Anne Broocker, Georgia Perimeter Coll., Dunwoody Copyright 2001 Reed Business Information, Inc. About the Author Lisa Schoenbrodt, Ed.D., CCC-SLP, is an associate professor and Chair of the Department of Speech Pathology/Audiology at Loyola College in Maryland. She is certified by the American Speech Language Hearing Association as a speech language pathologist who specializes in the evaluation and treatment of, and research about children with traumatic brain injuries and language learning disabili