1. Definition: (As stated under IDEA) “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. The term does not apply to brain
injuries that are congenital or degenerative, or to brain injuries induced by birth
trauma.”

2. •TBI (traumatic brain injury) is used for head injuries that can cause changes to one
or more major areas that may affect a great number of different functions such as:
o Talking
o Behaving
o Walking
o Seeing/hearing
o Learning
o Remembering things
o Paying attention
o Solving problems
o Reasoning and thinking
o Understanding words
o Analyzing

3. Injuries on the left side Injuries on the right side
 Injuries of the left side of the  Visual-spatial impairment
brain can cause:  Visual memory deficits
 Difficulties in understanding
language (receptive language)  Inattention to the left side of
the body
 Difficulties in speaking or verbal
output (expressive language)  Decreased awareness of
 Catastrophic reactions deficits
(depression, anxiety)  Altered creativity and music
 Verbal memory deficits perception
 Impaired logic  Loss of “the big picture” type
 Sequencing difficulties of thinking
 Decreased control over right-  Decreased control over left-
sided body movements sided body movements

4.  When injuries are scattered throughout both sides of
the brain
 This type of TBI may lead to:
 Confusion
 Reduced thinking speed
 Fatigue
 Reduced concentration and attention
 Impaired cognitive (thinking) skills in general

5.  TBI is usually the result of some sort of accident
 The Center for Disease Control estimates the causes for
TBI as follows
 Falls (35.2%)
 Motor vehicle-traffic crashes (17.3%)
 Being struck by/against events (16.5%)
 Assaults (10%)
When a TBI occurs, a person can change in a matter of seconds.
It is important to remember that
• No two brain injuries are the same
• Effects of a brain injury depend on factors such as
location, cause and severity
• A person with a brain injury is a person first

8.  http://www.ci.maryville.tn.us
 http://specialed.about.com
 http://www.biausa.org