Tip Cards on Brain Injury in Children and Adolescents

The sample packet of tip cards on children and adolescents with brain injury includes information on the brain, helping families cope, child development, concussion, learning and school, adolescence, and young adulthood. They are written for families, therapists, clinicians, educators and advocates for use in a variety of settings including hospitals, rehabilitation programs, home, schools, and community programs.

Information on brain injury treatment with tips for families, caregivers, veterans and clinicians on the causes, symptoms, treatment and recovery of adults with acquired brain injury due to internal and external causes. Using clear language for families and caregivers, this tip card describes treatment of: traumatic brain injury (TBI), anoxia (hypoxia), stroke or cardiovascular accidents (CVA), aneurysm, toxemia, viruses and bacterial infections in the brain.

Helping brothers and sisters when a sibling has a TBI is important. The needs of siblings for information and emotional support are often overlooked during the crisis of a child’s brain injury. This tip card has practical suggestions for families, therapists and educators on preparing brothers and sisters for hospital visits, understanding their emotional reactions and needs for information, and thinking about the future.

Caregiving by a family member when a spouse, parent or child has an acquired brain injury can be rewarding and stressful. Few family members are prepared to become caregivers when a parent, spouse, sibling or child has a brain injury. Providing cognitive supervision, emotional support and physical help places caregivers at risk for stress, exhaustion and burnout. This tip card has practical tips for caregivers to prevent feeling overloaded, to develop coping strategies, find support and take care of themselves.

Depression is a common consequence and reaction to traumatic brain injury. Depression can affect both survivors of brain injury and family members. This tip card describes the signs of depression with tips on when and how to ask for help. Checklists for family members and survivors have practical advice on what to do and what not to do when dealing with depression.

Relief that the person has survived the brain injury is often followed by feelings of grief and loss as the meaning of survival becomes evident. This tip card helps families and caregivers understand the grief process and their reactions and shows clinicians how to support survivors and families as they mourn the losses and changes in their lives.