Brain Recovery Support System

Follow me on Twitter, Facebook for Updates on Concussion, Brain Injury

I spend a fair amount of time following various news media, military blogs and news sources, and scientific experts on concussion and brain injury as well as ADHD, learning disabilities, and autism.  I regularly tweet, retweet, and share this information on Facebook.

If you would like a window on this world, without having to spend a lot of time trawling the internet,  you can find me on social media (see links).

Twitter – Dr. Clair Hinckley @TBIDrClair

Facebook – A-Z Learning Alternatives, LLC – Brain Recovery Support Systems

Brain Injured Veterans Need Friends, Family, Each Other

One of the sad consequences of brain injury is isolation.  People just don’t understand the situation when the wound is invisible.  Slowed or altered social responses and disinhibition (saying or doing whatever pops into your head without considering whether it is politic or tactful)  can put off friends and family.  Personality changes, some trivial (the friend who inspired my interest in TBI now likes vegetable he used to spurn), others more disconcerting, also can puzzle and turn off people who don’t understand.  Veterans are used to teamwork. This sense of connection is one of the facets of military life that spurs re-enlistment among healthy military folk, and one of the things they miss during recovery from injuries.  Some survivors are isolated in remote areas, others by the effects of their injuries.  In any case, helping them reconnect with peers who actually understand their situation is a smart approach to treatment.

This story supports my belief that working with groups of veterans and helping them connect online is a good idea:

http://www.cdc.gov/traumaticbraininjury/pdf/Lt_Col_Tim_Maxwell_Story-a.pdf?utm_source=Twitter&utm_medium=Hootsuite&utm_campaign=BrainLineMilitarySM

Parents and Teens Fail to Take Concussions Seriously

Two recent findings about teens and brain injury are quite disturbing.

Teen athletes: “Researchers found 32% of high school football players said they had concussion-like symptoms, such as headaches, confusion, or vomiting, over the last two years, but did not seek medical attention. Of these, more than half said they didn’t report it due to fear of being excluded from play.”  The study noted that most concussion information was obtained from coaches or trainers (less than 10%  cited other sources).

Teens tend to believe that they are immortal and that bad things happen to other people.  They are not good at predicting the consequences of their actions  and in this instance, the consequences can be dire.  Repeated concussions can have a cumulative effect, and even one concussion can have serious negative effects. http://teens.webmd.com/news/20121022/young-athletes-not-worried-concussions

Parents are also alarmingly blithe about concussions.  “Only half of U.S. adults who thought they or their children might have a concussion sought medical treatment, a finding that suggests many people do not understand the seriousness of a potential concussion, a new survey finds. http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/news/fullstory_130216.html#.UILKzPr_YE4.twitter