Marilyn Lash, M.S.W., uses her social work experience and research in pediatric rehabilitation to develop sensitive and practical guides for families, educators, and professionals. Her specialty is helping families cope with the emotional impact of brain injury and developing strategies for negotiating the complex service system. Now Director and Senior Editor of Lash & Associates Publishing/Training Inc., she focuses on developing user friendly publications for families, educators, and clinicians.
Ms Lash is Vice Chair of the North Carolina Statewide Traumatic Brain Injury Council, past Chairperson of the Brain Injury Association of North Carolina, and member of the Steering Committee for the Traumatic Brain Injury Technical Assistance Center under the federal Health Resources and Services Administration.
In Appreciation
The first edition of this booklet was developed in 1990 by the Research and Training Center in Rehabilitation and Childhood Trauma at New England Medical Center and Tufts University School of Medicine in Boston, MA. Staff of the Kiwanis Pediatric Trauma Institute were instrumental in identifying issues and concerns of parents, as well as strategies for addressing their needs.
This third edition in 2007 was written to meet the continuing requests of families for help, support and practical information to guide them through the difficult stage of their child’s hospitalization.
Special thanks are due the parents of injured children who spent many hours in meetings and interviews with the author. Their experiences and suggestions shaped the content of this booklet. They were incredibly open and willing to share their feelings, recall painful memories, and give suggestions to help other families. Their assistance is deeply appreciated. They are the real authors of this booklet. Thanks are also given to the children who drew pictures to illustrate this booklet.
Some of these families have children whose injuries affected their physical abilities such as walking, breathing, seeing or hearing. Others have children with changes in their abilities to think, learn or communicate. Some families were interviewed as soon as several weeks after their child’s injury. Others talked about their experiences many years later.
Summarizing all their information and experiences was the difficult part of writing this booklet. There are many causes and consequences of injuries. Every family is affected by their child’s injury differently. Each family reacts uniquely. However, conversations with families revealed many of the same concerns, thoughts, reactions and suggestions. They are the basis of this booklet.
