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Module II______________________________________________________

Understanding TBI

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Module II Goal______________________________

• To present information about the brain and how injury to the brain affects the student and family

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Module II Learning Outcomes ______________________________________________________

• At the end of this module you will understand

– Incidence and prevalence of TBI

– Mechanisms of brain injury

– Wisconsin’s definition of TBI

– Basic brain structures and functions

– Effects of TBI on student and family

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Brain Injury: Why do we need to know about it?_____________________________________________________

• More students are surviving serious brain injury (BI) than ever before

• Much of a student’s recovery from BI occurs AFTER returning to school

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Brain Injury: Why do we need to know about it?______________________________________________________

• Students with BI often have difficulty with learning and behavior that stems directly from their brain injuries

• Educators have many skills we can use once we understand the needs of students with BI

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Incidence and Prevalenceof BI_______________________________________________________

• 1 in 500 students sustain an acquired BI each year in the U.S.

• 1 in 25 students will sustain an acquired BI before high school graduation

• Overall twice as many boys as girls

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Brain Injury: Three Students_______________________________________________________

• Mike

• Monty

• Serena

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Primary Causes of BI by Age______________________________________________________

• InfantsAbuse; neglect

• ToddlersAbuse; falls

• Early ElementaryFalls; pedestrian-motor vehicle accidents

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Primary Causes of BI by Age_______________________________________________________

• Late elementary/Middle school

Pedestrian-bicycle accidents

Pedestrian-motor vehicle accidents

Sports

• High school

Motor vehicle accidents(Savage & Wolcott, 1994)

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Brain Injury Terms: Definitions _______________________________________________________

• Acquired Brain Injury

• Congenital and Perinatal Brain Injury

• Traumatic Brain Injury

– Open Head (brain) Injury

– Closed Head (brain) Injury

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Acquired Brain Injury_______________________________________________________

• Brain injury incurred after a period of normal development

– Internal causes

– External causes

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Congenital and PerinatalBrain Injury______________________________________________________

• No period of normal development• Congenital: a condition a child is born with

(e.g., metabolic disorder, chromosomal abnormality)

• Perinatal: a condition that develops around the time of birth (e.g., perinatal stroke)

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Traumatic Brain Injury

_______________________________________________________

• TBI in Wisconsin Schools:

– Occurs after a period of normal development

– Not congenital, degenerative, or due to birth trauma

– Occurs as a result of external physical force to the brain (e.g., as a result of a bike or car accident or a gunshot wound)

– Meets WI PI 11 criteria for TBI

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Types of Traumatic Brain Injury_______________________________________________________

• Open Head/Brain Injury: Brain injury in which the skull, meninges, and brain are penetrated by an external object (e.g., gunshot)

• Closed Head/Brain Injury: Brain injury in which the skull and meninges are NOT penetrated (e.g., head hits the dashboard)

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Open Head/Brain Injuries_______________________________________________________

• Penetrating Injuries

– Projectiles such as bullets or nails

– Sledding accidents

• More likely to experience seizures than closed head injuries

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Closed Head/Brain Injury_______________________________________________________

• Acceleration/ deceleration Injuries

– Falls

– Vehicular accidents

– Shaken baby syndrome

– Sports accidents

• Anoxic Episodes

– Near-drowning

– Strangulation

– Smoke inhalation

• Focal Injuries

– non-penetrating blows

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Closed Head/Brain Injuries_______________________________________________________

• More common than open head/brain injuries

• Cause more diffuse damage to the brain than open head/brain injuries

• Coup/contracoup mechanism of injury

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Mechanism of injury: Coup/Contracoup______________________________________________________

Reprinted with permission from the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction

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Primary Effects of Closed Head/Brain Injury______________________________________________________

• Injury to brain tissue at the site of coup and contracoup

• Shearing and tearing of neurons throughout the brain

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The Neuron______________________________________________________

Graphic courtesy of Marshfield Clinic

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The Neuron_____________________________________

• Gray matter: nerve cell bodies

• White matter: nerve axons coated with a myelin sheath

• Myelinization facilitates rapid transmission of impulses along the axon

• Bundles of neurons make up nerves that run from the brain to the spinal cord

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Secondary Effects of Closed Head/Brain Injury_______________________________________________________

• Bleeding (contributes to increased intracranial pressure)

• Swelling (contributes to increased intracranial pressure)

• Lack of oxygen to the brain (results in cell death)

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Before and After BI______________________________________________________

Speed limit 65 Speed limit 25

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Types of Brain Injury______________________________________________________

P erinata l(e .g ., b irth s troke)

C ongenita l(e .g ., PKU )

C ongenita l and P erinata l(no period of norm al developm ent)

N on-traum atic(in terna l occurrence

e.g., tum or)

O pen(e .g ., gunshot)

C losed(e.g., fa ll)

Traum atic (externa l phys ica l force)

A cquired(fo llow ing a period of norm al developm ent)

B rain In jury

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Predictors of Outcome after BI______________________________________________________

• Duration of coma

• Post-traumatic amnesia (PTA)

• Age

• Location of injury

• Pre-injury functioning

• Support systems

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Outcome Predictors: Coma______________________________________________________

• Coma is a state of unconsciousness in which the person cannot be aroused or does not respond, even to painful stimuli

• Coma is measured along a continuum of levels of responsiveness

• No or brief coma is generally a more positive predictor than longer coma

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Coma Scales

______________________________________________________

• Assess responsiveness to environmental stimuli

• Examples

– Glasgow Coma Scale

– Rancho Los Amigos Scale of Cognitive Levels

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Outcome Predictors:Post-Traumatic Amnesia (PTA)______________________________________________________

• Retrograde: Failure to remember events leading up to injury

• Anterograde: Failure to accumulate new memories after injury

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Outcome Predictors: Age______________________________________

• Young children are especially vulnerable to the effects of brain injury

• Previously developed skills may be preserved after brain injury, but new learning may be difficult

• Effects of brain injury may not be apparent until more advanced skills are expected to develop

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Other Outcome Predictors ______________________________________

• Location of injury

• Pre-injury functioning

• Support systems

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Severity of BI: Mild______________________________________________________

• Brief or no loss of consciousness

• Signs of concussion

– Nausea and vomiting

– Headache

– Fatigue

– Dizziness

– Poor recent memory

• Post traumatic amnesia less than 1 hour

• GCS of 13-15

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Severity of BI: Moderate_______________________________________________________ • Coma less than 24 hours

• Post-traumatic amnesia 1- 24 hours

• GCS of 9-12

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Severity of BI: Severe_______________________________________________________

• Coma more than 24 hours

• Post-traumatic amnesia more than 1 day

• GCS 3-8

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Student examples_______________________________________________________

• Mike

• Monty

• Serena

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How does a student with BI qualify for special education services?______________________________________________________

• To be identified as a student with TBI, the student must meet the Wisconsin definition of TBI

• Not all students with BI meet the Wisconsin criteria for TBI

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Traumatic Brain Injury:What is it? __________________________________________

• TBI became a special education handicapping condition in IDEA in 1990

• TBI was added to Wisconsin’s special education law (Chapter 115) and rules (PI 11) in 1995.

• TBI is one of 11 areas of impairment listed in Wisconsin Chapter 115

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Wisconsin Definition of TBI_______________________________________________________

• The Wisconsin TBI definition has four parts

• The entire definition from Wisconsin PI ll is printed on the next page of your manual

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Wisconsin TBI Definition: Part 1_______________________________________________________

• Traumatic brain injury – an acquired injury to the brain – caused by an external physical force – resulting in total or partial functional

disability or psychosocial impairment, or both

– adversely affects a child’s educational performance

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TBI Definition (part 1 cont.)_______________________________________________________

• open or closed head injuries

• impairments in one or more

– cognition; speech and language; memory; attention; reasoning; abstract thinking; communication; judgment; problem solving; sensory, perceptual and motor abilities; psychosocial behavior; physical functions; information processing; and executive functions

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TBI Definition (part 1 cont.)________________________________________________

• Executive functions are “planning, prioritizing, sequencing, self-monitoring, self-correcting, inhibiting, initiating, controlling or altering behavior. ” (Savage & Wolcott, 1995, p. 150).

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TBI Definition (part 1 cont.)_______________________________________________________

• The term does NOT apply to brain injuries that are congenital or degenerative, or brain injuries induced by birth trauma

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TBI Definition: Part 2_______________________________________________________

• Acquired injuries to the brain caused by INTERNAL occurrences are NOT TBI

• Injuries due to INTERNAL causes MAY meet criteria for other areas of impairment

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TBI Definition: Part 3_______________________________________________________

• Standardized and norm-referenced instruments may not be reliable or valid

• Alternative means of evaluation shall be considered

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TBI Definition: Part 4_______________________________________________________

• Before a child may be identified with TBI available medical information from a licensed physician shall be considered.

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Incidence of TBI in Wisconsin Schools______________________________________________________

• 431 students identified with TBI per PI 11 criteria (as of December 1, 2005)

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The Brain______________________________________________________

• Weighs about three pounds and is the consistency of jello

• Contains billions of neurons

• Videotape (optional)

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Components of the Brain_______________________________________________________

1. Brainstem

2. Cerebellum

3. Basal Ganglia

4. Diencephalon

5. Limbic System

6. Cerebral Cortex

*See Brain Surface map on next page

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The Brainstem_______________________________________________________

• At the base of the brain above the spinal cord

• Comprised of the medulla, pons, and midbrain

• Responsible for basic life functions

• Severe injury causes death

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The Cerebellum______________________________________________________

• Primarily helps modulate motor responses

• Regulates direction, rate, force, and steadiness

• Injury disrupts coordination and muscle tone

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Basal Ganglia______________________________________________________

• Nerve cell clusters involved with regulation of physical movement

• Injury results in involuntary movements, slowness or tremor

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The Diencephalon______________________________________________________

• Main organs: thalamus and hypothalamus

• Hypothalamus: controls hunger, thirst, sleep, body temperature, hormones; important role in emotional regulation

• Thalamus: relays information regarding sensation and movement

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The Limbic System______________________________________________________

• Main organs: hippocampus and amygdala

• Hippocampus: memory retrieval

• Amygdala: emotional memories

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The Cerebral Cortex______________________________________________________

• Center of conscious brain activity

• Divided into two hemispheres connected by the corpus callosum

• The right side of the brain controls the left side of the body and vice versa

• Dominant hemisphere represents language (usually left hemisphere)

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The Lobes of the Cerebral Cortex______________________________________________________

• Each hemisphere of the brain is divided into four lobes

Frontal

Temporal

Parietal

Occipital

Reprinted with permission from the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction

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The Frontal Lobes______________________________________________________

• Susceptible to injury

• Control executive functions

• Deficits may become apparent as student develops

• Motor cortex

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The Parietal Lobes______________________________________________________

• Receives, analyzes, and integrates sensory and motor stimuli

• Recognizes touch, location in space

• Role in recognizing faces, objects, and ability to assemble and draw

• Spatial neglect

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Motor and Sensory Strips______________________________________________________

• The motor and sensory strips are located on either side of the central sulcus

• The motor strip is responsible for movement

• The sensory strip is responsible for sensation

Reprinted with permission from the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction

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The Temporal Lobes______________________________________________________

• Receives, analyzes, and integrates auditory information

• Center for language Expressive: fronto-temporal area Receptive: tempero-parietal area

• Forms memories

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The Occipital Lobes______________________________________________________

• Receives, analyzes. integrates visual information

• Visual disturbances such as restricted vision, impaired visual recognition, and scanning

• Optic nerve travels through the brain to the eyes

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Effects of Brain Injury: Infants and Toddlers _______________________________________________________

• The very young brain is like custard

• Limited head control results in shearing of brain

• Open fontanels mean less brain protection

• More frequent seizures than older children

• Motor and expressive language skills susceptible

• Interrupted synaptic connections have “cascading effect”

• Focal injuries may have better outcome

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Effects of Brain Injury: Elementary and Middle School Students• During this time the child’s brain is

“supercharged” or rapidly developing• Connections between the two hemispheres

of the brain and within each hemisphere become more efficient

• Brain injury during this period interrupts development of critical cognitive and communication skills

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Effects of Brain Injury: High School Students• Myelinization of the frontal lobes and more

efficient connections within the brain facilitate development of logical thinking and ability to solve complex problems

• Previously developed skills are more resistant to effects of brain injury

• Psychosocial effects of brain injury threaten adolescent’s sense of self

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Three Students _______________________________________________________

• What types of difficulties in school do you expect these students to exhibit?

–Mike–Monty–Serena

• Refer to worksheet on p. 34d

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How can you determine how TBI affects an individual student?________________________________________

• Review the student’s medical record. What part(s) of the brain were injured?

• Review hospitalization records, discharge summary, therapist reports.

• Ask medical staff how the BI will affect student functioning.

• Ask family members, teachers, and peers what they are seeing.

• Observe/interview the student.

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Can brain injuries be repaired?______________________________________________________

• Research tells us– Once neurons are severed they cannot yet be

repaired. – The brain generates new brain cells, but we do

not yet know how to direct these cells to become neurons.

– Over time the secondary effects of brain injury subside, new information pathways may develop, and functioning generally improves.

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What happens to the student and family after the injury?

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Typical Medical Course for a Student with a Moderate/Severe ABI______________________________________________________

• Emergency room

• Regional trauma center if

necessary

• Surgery if necessary

• Acute care setting (hospital)

• Rehabilitation unit or center

• School

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The Impact of ABI on Families_______________________________________________________

• Families are in extreme emotional distress after a child’s injury

• Parents’ immediate concern is life and death

• Parents become experts about ABI

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Child and Family Stages after ABI_______________________________________________________Child

• Initial Injury

• Coma

• Rehabilitation

• Reintegration

Family

• Shock, grief, crisis

• Hope, disruption of family life, fear

• Reestablishing family routines, emerging awareness of extent of injury, isolation

• Altering dreams, long-range planning

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Within The First Year After ABI_______________________________________________________

• Emotional resources available to the family decrease

• Family members begin to see evidence of cognitive and behavioral aftereffects

• Family begins to understand that the child may have permanent impairments

(Corbett & Ross-Thomson, 1996)

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End of Module II