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Talking with Parents
When a student has a brain injury
By Linda Robinson ~ 1999
No one wants a child to become independent and self-sufficient more than the parents. At best, brain injury interrupts that process; at worst, it threatens to stop or seriously delay it.
When a school-aged child is seriously injured, the school often keeps in close contact with the family as they worry together about the child’s survival. But once the student is medically stable and returns home or moves on to rehabilitation, school staff and friends often assume that things are returning to normal.
Recovery and rehabilitation from a brain injury is a long and uncertain process. Many people associate brain injury with coma, severe physical disabilities, and difficulty communicating. Actually, the physical recovery of many children with brain injuries is so rapid that it seems like a miracle.
The student with a brain injury may appear to be no different than before the accident. Except now, this student is not as quick, gets angry more easily, and doesn’t seem to ever have the right thing in the right place at the right time.
Parents notice their child now gets easily frustrated, can’t remember things, is more disorganized, more moody, and gets upset more easily. School work that used to be easy is now harder and takes longer. “Are these changes temporary or permanent?” is the question that worries many parents.
