Answer 2 for NRS 455 Identify a common perceptual, neurological, or cognitive issue and discuss contributing factors
One topic I’d like to discuss here are Traumatic Brain Injuries, this topic hits close to home. My brother was in a real bad car accident a few years ago and had severe brain injury, including skull fracture. Traumatic brain injury, depending on the severity can be mild, severe and even cause death. I’d like to discuss the severity of a brain injury which many of us know that athletes go through all the time with some very serious effects. The cognitive issues after having a traumatic brain injury are trouble remembering, concentration problems, feeling anxious or depressed, mood changes or mood swings, difficulty sleeping or sleeping more than usual. (Traumatic Brain Injury – Symptoms & Causes – Mayo Clinic, n.d.) In the seriousness of these TBI my brother would try and speak but the words coming out of his mouth were nothing of what he was trying to say, and he knew that which would really frustrate him and would become very violent. It took lots of therapy even physical therapy, because his brain could not coordinate with his body to remember how to walk. He started with a walker and slowly progressed. A therapist would work with him and show him pictures and have him try to repeat the words, although he knew what he wanted to say but the words would not come out. After about 6 weeks, we started to see progress and, thankfully, he is now fully recovered, although I feel there was some very minimal brain damage because I don’t feel he’s the 100% brother I had before his accident. Severe TBI cause profound confusion, agitation, combativeness and other unusual behavior, slurred speech, coma and other disorders of consciousness. Patients with severe TBI are usually discharged to rehab centers where they can continue to get the therapy they need. (Traumatic Brain Injury – Symptoms & Causes – Mayo Clinic, n.d.) These five year outcomes of people with TBI, 22% died, 30% became worse, 22% stayed the same, and 26% improved. Data are US population estimates based on the TBIMS National Database. *Data refer to people 16 years of age and older who received inpatient rehabilitation services for a primary diagnosis of TBI. There are also many resources available to people who have suffered from a TBI. (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention [CDC], 2023)
Brain Injury Association of America
National Brain Injury Information or call 1-800-444-6443
National Association of State Head Injury Administrators
United States Brain Injury Alliance
Military Health System’s Traumatic Brain Injury Center of Excellence
There are just a few of the resources I found.
References
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2023, September 7). Traumatic brain injury / concussion. https://www.cdc.gov/traumaticbraininjury/index.html
Traumatic brain injury – symptoms & causes – mayo clinic. (n.d.). Mayo Clinic. https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/traumatic-brain-injury/symptoms-causes/syc-20378557
