College after Brain Injury

School Daze

By Paul Gianni

Brain injury created chaos for me

Have you ever tried to read an intense, extremely detailed novel in the middle of a loud, packed sports arena during an event?  What about herding fish without any equipment or assistance? That’s what I did simultaneously for five or six full years – or at least it seemed like it.

College was supposed to be a new beginning after my brain injury

I started college one year after my brain injury. Such a move is neither recommended nor even pursued that often, but I am impatient. In fact, most doctors would attempt to persuade their patients to focus on rehabilitation rather than academic concerns. What I did was, according to the adage, “Put the cart before the horse.” Such a move cost me undue time (taking classes I did not need) and money (to pay for them).

I had no real place to study because I required absolute silence in order to comprehend what I had just read. If I experienced even the slightest disturbance, I had to start reading again from a point much earlier than where I was when the disturbance occurred – often the very beginning. The optimal studying environment was found nowhere except at home at three-thirty in the morning, after everybody had gone to bed.

I am not trying to say my family was not empathetic to my needs. They simply did not understand the extent of my problem. I do not believe they should have to adjust the lifestyles that they had been living happily for fifty years merely so I can read.

My epiphany of what went wrong in college

 Looking back, I can see that I spent too much time and money on school for two reasons:

1. I did not have any friends in the area when I started college, so I took all the classes my one friend, Jenny (with a completely different major).

2. I took classes I thought were interesting (or would leave me less lonely), not those that were required for my degree. In the end, I took almost twice as many classes as needed.

While the other students studied spring and fall semesters and took breaks during the summer, I took classes all year through. During spring, summer and winter breaks, when they relaxed in whichever hot spot was supposed to be the best or relaxed with their families, I remained home attempting to catch up or get ahead.

The things stated above are not to garner sympathy, praise nor any other type of adulation, but merely to note that completing school after a brain injury is not the easiest thing to accomplish. Depending on the type, location and severity of the injury, some survivors can successfully accomplish such undertakings if a lot of dedication and energy are put forth.

My behavior worsened the cognitive challenges of learning in college

 During my earlier days at school, my behavior was totally inappropriate. I did things such as attempt to answer rhetorical questions posed to the class in a large lecture hall. I tried to be the class clown by beginning each class with stupid questions, such as, “Do fish blink? ” Or I tried to show off and argued my point during class, rather than waiting until class was over and taking my question to the professor privately. All the methods I used to try to gain favorable attention only resulted in me being shunned and further isolated.

When I focused on being a serious student, rather than on the rest of the standard collegiate social aspects, I often found days to be routine and productive – until the end of a semester. During this time, the professors often assigned long reports or projects due within a brief time period while at the same time I was preparing for the final exam (which occasionally included all the material covered that semester).

Initially, preparing material for submittal was difficult because I did not know what was expected or how to do it (since I had been out of school for seven years). A long report seemed that much more daunting. Meanwhile, I was also supposed to be studying for a final exam that could cover information I may have forgotten. My injured little brain found such an exercise to be quite a challenge.

I know I needed more sleep than I was accustomed to getting before the accident, but I had a difficult time accomplishing all the things necessary for school in the allotted time. Further, I found a strict dedication to schoolwork extremely tedious – I needed a break so I could play a little, or at least get my mind away from my classes.

Accommodations or help is on the way! 

One person I found to be quite helpful in guiding me toward which classes to take was Dr. Jankowski of the journalism department. After two years at college, I discovered the Office/Department of Disability Resources. The director, Robert “Rob” Cunningham, helped me get test taking accommodations such as additional time, the use of notes, etc. He also provided me with a tape recorder so I could tape the classes and listen to them again later. Other options included having somebody take notes for me since I could not write fast or legibly, having books read on tape for me to hear if I learned better by hearing than reading, or the having the assistance of a tutor. A couple HUGE things he did for me were acquiring an exemption from foreign language and lower math requirements. When my parents threw a graduation party for me, Rob Cunningham and Dr. Jankowski both came.

Since I have a brain injury, one of my difficulties includes word retrieval, or difficulty recalling the correct word or words. Consequently, taking tests that involved writing long answers in the allotted amount of time was difficult because I could not think of the proper phrasing even though I knew the correct answer(s).

Success at last!

Because of struggles with various classes, many of which were required but I did not find pertinent to my degree, I felt like quitting altogether at least once a semester. Thanks to Rob, Jenny, Dr. Jankowski and the fear of having no job when the school loan came due, I stayed in school until I graduated.

But I DID graduate, which is something that cannot be said by everybody who begins. For various reasons such as changed majors, lack of funds after too many changed majors, frustration, or whatever, many students who begin their freshman years with dreams of a happy graduation never make it. I think somebody told me once that only sixty percent of any given freshman class will graduate. Regardless of whether that is true or not, I did it.

I made it. You can, too – if you try.

For more information, see:

Going to College When a Student has a Brain Injury

By Jane Goodwin and Linda Larson

Brain injury tip card for educators and counselors helps students with TBI learn about federal laws for students with disabilities and how to negotiate accommodations in college.