Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI)
Definition
The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) (WAC392-172A-010350) defines traumatic brain injury as"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 affects 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; judgment; problem-solving; sensory, perceptual, and motor abilities; psycho-social behavior; physical functions; information processing; and speech.
Traumatic Brain Injury can have a significant impact on classroom performance and impairments can vary from being quite severe or to being quite mild depending on the amount of damage. TBI most often results from accidents or from a blow to the head or a penetrating head injury that disrupts the normal function of the brain.
TBI is not used to describe a person born with a brain injury or injured during birth. For the most part, every brain injury is different as the part of the brain involved in the injury may vary. Many children will have lifelong disabilities as a direct result of TBI.
Academic Implication
Many children with TBI will exhibit characteristics of learning and or behavioral disabilities. Identified areas of difficulty may include all or some of the following items:
(a) Difficulty with logic, thinking and reasoning.
(b) Slower to respond, react and complete activities and tasks.
(c) Difficulty focusing attention.
(d) Physical limitations.
(e) Inappropriate social behaviors.
(f) Difficulty remembering.
(g) Frequently puzzled or challenged by grade level work.
(h) Difficulty learning.
(i) It is believe that TBI has a profound effect on new learning even though previous learning may remain intact.
(j) Some TBI children will have speech and language deficits.
Consideration of a 504 Plan
Ask: Is the student able to participate in and benefit from a general education program (i.e. achieve passing grades, advance from grade to grade) without the provision of special education? Can the educational needs of the student be sufficiently addressed through the provision of possible accommodations and related services?
Best Practices
Include the school nurse, speech language pathologist and occupational therapist on 504 and evaluation teams. If needed, provide extended school year service. Become informed; work with the parents to understand as much as you can about the child.
Include an Exchange of Information form for contact with professional practitioners as part of the 504 Plan or evaluation process.
(a) Initiate a Health Plan and, if felt needed, an Emergency Plan with school nurse and parent.
(b) Provide training to staff if seizure activity is noted.
(c) In class, repeat instructions, directions as needed and provide one direction at a time.
(d) Allow the student more time to complete tasks and reduce the workload if needed.
(e) Monitor fatigue and mental exhaustion. Activities/tasks requiring the student to concentrate for long periods of time should be avoided. It's important to remember that the student takes a longer amount of time to process information.
(f) Provide strategies for organizing and sequencing tasks.
(g) Shorten the school day if need is indicated.
(h) Provide post secondary or vocational transition planning.
(i) Assist student/parents with community agency connection information (DVR/DDD/
(j) Make sure the 504 Plan or Individual Education Program (IEP) is looked at as being flexible and considered a working document.
Concussion
A concussion is a type of TBI generally considered mild because most concussions are not life threatening. Symptoms of concussions may last for days or weeks and can include: difficulty concentrating and thinking clearly, nausea and balance problems, irritability, nervousness or anxiety and sleep problems. Recovery from a concussion is dependent on impact from the injury and will vary in severity and treatment of symptoms and period of recovery. Persons who have had previous concussions may find that it takes longer to recover.
Should concussion symptoms substantially affect life activities such as performance in school, implementation of a 504 Plan may be merited during recovery.
The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) (WAC392-172A-010350) defines traumatic brain injury as"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 affects 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; judgment; problem-solving; sensory, perceptual, and motor abilities; psycho-social behavior; physical functions; information processing; and speech.
Traumatic Brain Injury can have a significant impact on classroom performance and impairments can vary from being quite severe or to being quite mild depending on the amount of damage. TBI most often results from accidents or from a blow to the head or a penetrating head injury that disrupts the normal function of the brain.
TBI is not used to describe a person born with a brain injury or injured during birth. For the most part, every brain injury is different as the part of the brain involved in the injury may vary. Many children will have lifelong disabilities as a direct result of TBI.
Academic Implication
Many children with TBI will exhibit characteristics of learning and or behavioral disabilities. Identified areas of difficulty may include all or some of the following items:
(a) Difficulty with logic, thinking and reasoning.
(b) Slower to respond, react and complete activities and tasks.
(c) Difficulty focusing attention.
(d) Physical limitations.
(e) Inappropriate social behaviors.
(f) Difficulty remembering.
(g) Frequently puzzled or challenged by grade level work.
(h) Difficulty learning.
(i) It is believe that TBI has a profound effect on new learning even though previous learning may remain intact.
(j) Some TBI children will have speech and language deficits.
Consideration of a 504 Plan
Ask: Is the student able to participate in and benefit from a general education program (i.e. achieve passing grades, advance from grade to grade) without the provision of special education? Can the educational needs of the student be sufficiently addressed through the provision of possible accommodations and related services?
Best Practices
Include the school nurse, speech language pathologist and occupational therapist on 504 and evaluation teams. If needed, provide extended school year service. Become informed; work with the parents to understand as much as you can about the child.
Include an Exchange of Information form for contact with professional practitioners as part of the 504 Plan or evaluation process.
(a) Initiate a Health Plan and, if felt needed, an Emergency Plan with school nurse and parent.
(b) Provide training to staff if seizure activity is noted.
(c) In class, repeat instructions, directions as needed and provide one direction at a time.
(d) Allow the student more time to complete tasks and reduce the workload if needed.
(e) Monitor fatigue and mental exhaustion. Activities/tasks requiring the student to concentrate for long periods of time should be avoided. It's important to remember that the student takes a longer amount of time to process information.
(f) Provide strategies for organizing and sequencing tasks.
(g) Shorten the school day if need is indicated.
(h) Provide post secondary or vocational transition planning.
(i) Assist student/parents with community agency connection information (DVR/DDD/
(j) Make sure the 504 Plan or Individual Education Program (IEP) is looked at as being flexible and considered a working document.
Concussion
A concussion is a type of TBI generally considered mild because most concussions are not life threatening. Symptoms of concussions may last for days or weeks and can include: difficulty concentrating and thinking clearly, nausea and balance problems, irritability, nervousness or anxiety and sleep problems. Recovery from a concussion is dependent on impact from the injury and will vary in severity and treatment of symptoms and period of recovery. Persons who have had previous concussions may find that it takes longer to recover.
Should concussion symptoms substantially affect life activities such as performance in school, implementation of a 504 Plan may be merited during recovery.