A brain injury can happen at any time to anyone. Keystone AEA has a team of professionals ready to assist schools and families with information about the educational needs of students with acquired brain injuries.
The Brain Injury Resource Team:
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provides information about brain injury to school teams, parents, and other agencies.
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consults with teams during the evaluation of a child with an acquired brain injury.
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assists educators and parents in planning for the child's re-entry into school and home.
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offers inservice training for educators, parents, and community organizations.
WHAT IS A BRAIN INJURY?
"Traumatic brain injury means an acquired injury to the brain caused by an external physical force, resulting in total or partial functional disability or psychosocial impairment, or both, that adversely affect a child’s educational performance.
The term applies to open or closed head injuries resulting in impairments in one or more areas, such as cognition; language; memory; attention; reasoning; abstract thinking; judgement; problem solving; sensory, perceptual, and motor abilities; psychosocial behavior; physical functions, information processing; and speech.
The term does not apply to brain injuries that are congenital or degenerative or brain injuries induced by birth trauma." Administrative Rules of Special Education-December 2009
CAUSES & SYMPTOMS?
Acquired brain injuries may be caused by one or more of the following:
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traumas from accidents, falls, assaults, bicycle accidents, car/motorcycle accidents, sports injuries, and surgical procedures.
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infections (e.g. meningitis, encephalitis)
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strokes and other vascular accidents
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injuries caused by a reduction in the oxygen supply to the brain from anesthetic accidents, hanging, choking, near drownings, and severe loss of blood
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tumors of the brain
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metabolic disorders (e.g. insulin shock, liver/kidney disease)
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toxic products taken into the body through inhalation or ingestion
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impairments in one or more of the following areas: cognition, problem solving, language, perceptual and/or motor abilities, sensory, memory, social behaviors, attention, abstract thinking, reasoning, physical functions, judgement, information processing, speech, These impairments may be either temporary or permanent and may cause a partial or total functional disability or psychological difficulty.