Audio Material
The audio materials that are compiled here provide a meaningful alternative to video and allow for the possibility for illiterate individuals and communities to access vital information about the brain, brain injury and brain-injury recovering. The resources assembled here include:
Podcast series dedicated to traumatic brain injury (TBI) awareness, created by survivors for survivors. In this series you will hear from survivors, caregivers, medical professionals, and others!
http://facesoftbi.com/podcast-series/
https://player.fm/podcasts/Brain-Injury
As part of the A New Me campaign, brain injury survivor and ex-journalist Will Perringwood toured the country with his wife Amy, interviewing other brain injury survivors and their family members about how their condition affects them, and the meaning of the phrase 'a new me'.
https://www.headway.org.uk/get-involved/campaigns/a-new-me/podcast/
Websites
This section offers links to a variety of useful websites that contribute to a number of relevant aspects of brain injury, from links to books on various important topics through to those websites that offer guidance for treatment and recovery.
https://www.routledge.com/authors/i16733-dr-ross-balchin
Recommended Journals
https://www.tandfonline.com/loi/rnpa20
http://www.cnps.cl/index.php/cnps
https://www.bps.org.uk/publications/neuropsychologist
https://journals.sagepub.com/home/sap
http://www.neuropsicolatina.org/index.php/Neuropsicologia_Latinoamericana
Blogs
Blogs are similar to online diary entries. They are comprised of regularly updated pages (posts) that offer information on a range of topics. This part of the website is devoted to important brain-related blogs. These blogs provide important up-to-date insights into brain injury from individuals and institutions with first-hand experience in a variety of diverse contexts around the world.
https://blog.cognitivefxusa.com/anger-after-a-brain-injury
https://blog.cognitivefxusa.com/mental-health-where-to-start-after-tbi
Podcasts
Podcasts are a series of files published online, which can be accessed to listen to and also downloaded. This space for podcasts is provided on this website because podcasts provide up-to-date experience, insights and information from people who work at the cutting edge of brain-injury research and rehabilitation.
http://facesoftbi.com/podcast-series/
Headway
https://www.headway.org.uk/get-involved/campaigns/a-new-me/podcast/
Articles
This section provides links to current academic research papers from various fields that work with brain injury. This is an important resource for keeping abreast of knowledge in the ever-evolving fields of the neurosciences.
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2017/12/171206174243.htmIn this section we present historical articles with seminal ideas that have contributed to the assessment and rehabilitation of people with brain damage.
Goldstein, K. (1952). The effect of brain damage on the personality. Psychiatry, 15(3), 245-260.
In this article Goldstein presents for the first time an holistic theoretical model to understand the impact of brain injury in individuals as well as the mechanisms involved in the adjustment process between individual and environment. Luria, A. R. (1964). Neuropsychology in the local diagnosis of brain damage. Cortex, 1(1), 3-18. In this article Luria presents his main ideas regarding the localization of simple and higher order cortical functions, emphasizing the need to analyze how brain injury compromises the neuropsychological components that sustain complex mental functions. Zangwill, O. L. (1947). Psychological aspects of rehabilitation in cases of brain injury. British Journal of Psychology, 37(2), 60-69.In this article a theory of cogntive rehabilitation is presented for the first time. Particular emphasis is placed on the retraining of lost functions and the use of compensation.
Lezak, M. D. (1988). Brain damage is a family affair. Journal of Clinical and Experimental Neuropsychology, 10(1), 111-123.In this article Lezak describes how the behavioral and cognitive changes brought by brain damage can challenge family relationships.
Kaplan, E. (1988). The process approach to neuropsychological assessment. Aphasiology, 2(3-4), 309-311.
In this article Kaplan describes the principles that guide The Boston Process Approach. This approach attempts to understand the processes involved in how a patient accomplishes or fails to perform a task. It provides key information for understanding the neuropsychological profile of a patient and for how to approach a treatment plan.
Klonoff, P. S., & Lage, G. A. (1991). Narcissistic injury in patients with traumatic brain injury. The Journal of Head Trauma Rehabilitation.In this article Klonoff describes how brain injury, and the commonly experienced catastrophic reactions, can alter people’s sense of coherence and self-esteem, thereby requiring particular psychological interventions from the rehabilitation team.
Prigatano, G. P. (1991). Disordered mind, wounded soul: The emerging role of psychotherapy in rehabilitation after brain injury. The Journal of Head Trauma Rehabilitation.In this historical paper Prigatano summarizes the reasons why the rehabilitation of brain-injured patients needs to focus not only on the management of cognitive problems but, more importantly, on the emotional problems that arise because of the “loss of normality”.
Ben-Yishay, Y. (1996). Reflections on the evolution of the therapeutic milieu concept. Neuropsychological Rehabilitation, 6(4), 327-343.
In this article Ben-Yishay presents an historical account of the concept of the therapeutic milieu and why it is so relevant for the treatment of cognitive and behavioral changes following brain damage. This concept is at the core of all holistic rehabilitation programs.
Wilson, B. A. (1997). Cognitive rehabilitation: How it is and how it might be. Journal of the International Neuropsychological Society, 3(5), 487-496.
In this is classic article Wilson describes the basic theoretical and technical principles behind the treatment of cognitive impairments.
Ylvisaker, M., & Feeney, T. (2000). Reconstruction of identity after brain injury. Brain Impairment, 1(1), 12-28.
In this article Ylvisaker and Feeney summarize their ideas on how brain damage changes people’s sense of identity and how rehabilitation should aim at facilitating the process of identity reconstruction as an overall goal that encompasses cognitive and functional interventions.
Educational Materials
When it comes to expanding this book as a resource for brain-injury, there are a number of useful educational resources out there. Here follows a list of education materials that provide important knowledge about the brain and brain injury in an easily digestible manner.
Neuroanatomy
http://thebrain.mcgill.cahttp://www.neuroanatomy.ca/modules.html
https://www.mayfieldclinic.com/PE-AnatBrain.htm
Brain Injury
https://biau.org/types-and-levels-of-brain-injury/Databases
Databases offer an important resource when it comes to accessing information on a range of relevant topics. For example, access to prevalence rates of particular forms of brain injury in certain geographic areas can play a key part in terms of placing the necessary resources for planning interventions and prevention strategies. Here is a list of important brain-injury related databases from around the world.
Content to follow.Videos
This section includes a number of video resources that provide information concerning topics such as brain-injury rehabilitation, patients’ success stories, and the work of various brain-injury organisations around the world. The visual materials here also include resources that show how brain injury awareness can be raised in innovative and engaging ways through mediums such as design, art and animation.
An Introduction to Brain Injury
https://www.youtube.com/watch?reload=9&v=Gc2GKDeCKQI
Personal Stories: A documentary about brain injury and social isolation
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jyrwwdtCikM&feature=youtu.be
Living with the effects of Brain Injury
Part 1 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r1KYnpOj3ec
Part 2 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZGYB6StDxs4
Evidence Based Neuropsychological Rehabilitation: A talk by Prof. Jon Evans
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xdh0Z2fMqJk&t=187s
Using Rehabilitation Techniques at Home with TBI individuals (Tedd Judd)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aernc_MKltU&t=135s
Using Errorless Learning in Rehabilitation of people with ABI (Tedd Judd)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aernc_MKltU&t=135s
Understanding Behavior Change after Traumatic Brain Injury (Tedd Judd)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HxaNeE7Qzn4
Patience, Listening and Communicating with Aphasia Patients
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aPTTjRTmgq0
Aphasia Etiquette
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hTh86NoQh7Q
Things not to say to someone with brain injury
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eMNnVS6oNi0
Lost in a Crowd: the effects of brain injury can often be hidden
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7M_aXvVpzis
Educating families about behavioral changes
https://www.brainline.org/video/educating-families-about-behavioral-changes
Memory problems in aging population
https://www.theleadingstrand.org/neurotransmission/
Training Resources/ Materials
When it comes to expanding this book as a resource for brain-injury, there are a number of useful training resources and materials available that provide important knowledge about the brain and brain injury in an easily digestible manner. Here follows a list of such resources that can be used in a variety of contexts, with a number of different applications, from learning at an individual level to training workshops for groups.
Content to follow.Case Studies
Shared experiences provide an important way to learn about brain injury and coping. This section contains a number of case studies that highlight patients’, families’ and health care providers’ stories and perspectives from around the world.
Case 1
Jay is a 41-year-old, right-handed mechanic. He left school at the age of 16 with a few GCSEs at grades B – A. After a gap year spent travelling across mainland Europe and America, he attended a local technical college for 3 years and trained as a motor mechanic. Jay then got a job at a local cereal factory, where he was in charge of machine maintenance. Jay has been in this post for the past 18 years. He has generally been very fit and healthy, still playing football with a local seniors team, for example. The only past medical history of note is that he was diagnosed with hypertension at the age of 39. At times this has been challenging for his family doctor to control and his medication has had to be changed on a couple of occasions, most recently a month ago. Other than that, Jay presented with mild depression a few years ago, which responded well to a combination of antidepressant medication and a few sessions of counselling. He does not smoke, and drinks alcohol in moderation only. He has never been admitted to hospital for anything of note, and there is no history of severe injuries or illnesses. There is no family history of note. Jay is referred to you from a neurosurgeon for “support and help in the community” following a recent hospital admission and surgical intervention at a nearby regional neuroscience centre. Unfortunately, no other information is provided and the medical notes are not available to you.
When you see Jay for your initial investigations he is friendly, saying that he is doing well and making a good recovery. Upon questioning about what happened to him, he tells you that whilst at work, when straining to adjust a stubborn cogwheel on a machine, “the world just went black, and I passed out”. His fellow workers called an ambulance, and he was taken to hospital. Jay remembers nothing of this. Jay reports that when he “woke up” a couple of days later, the surgeon told him he had had an “operation on his brain”, but that “everything was now fine and should not cause trouble again”. Jay said he was a bit surprised, because when he looked in the mirror, there were no “cut marks or bandages on my head”, only “a tiny cut on the top of my leg near my groin”. You notice that Jay appears completely unconcerned about the potential gravity of his situation, and in fact jokes about every second question you ask. He is also noticeably impulsive when you administer a basic bedside cognitive assessment. His language functions are all fine. Jay’s memory appears to be a bit ‘hit and miss’, but it is not clear if he cannot remember, or is simply a bit chaotic when it comes to organising materials. There are no problems with any motor or visual functions. You manage to speak to Jay’s wife separately. His wife tells you that since he went to hospital, while physically fine, “he is a different man, with a different personality”. Prior to all of this, Jay was a very organised, meticulous and serious person. He was quite shy, and would never enjoy parties, generally trying to avoid them. She is also very embarrassed by his tendency to tell jokes to people he does not know well, which is something that he would never have done in the past.
Think about this case and how you would explain Jay’s situation.
Case 2
Alberto is a 21-year-old only child. He has been referred to you by a volunteer who works with an inner-city branch of a local charity. The volunteer who initially contacted you by telephone at the community centre where you work as a healthcare support worker accompanies Alberto. Any help or advice you can offer would be greatly appreciated. Over the course of the morning the following story emerges. The background is that Alberto has been homeless and ended up in a hostel for young men who live a rough life on the streets. The warden at the hostel thought “something was not quite right” with Alberto. He observed how Alberto’s speech was a bit slow and that he seemed to take ages to grasp simple things. He was also not always on time for routine events such as breakfast. After a few days, the warden realised that Alberto was very forgetful and that it was his poor memory that accounted for his apparent lack of engagement with activities in the hostel.
The warden initially suspected that Alberto may have a learning difficulty and therefore asked him whether he went to school, at what age he left school, and with what grades. To his surprise, Alberto indicated that he left school at the age of 17 and had achieved above-average grades. Alberto’s plan was to try and join the city police force. Unfortunately, two weeks after finishing school he was attacked and robbed of his phone by a local gang and suffered serious facial and head injuries in the process. Alberto was found unconscious and was taken to hospital where he spent three weeks recovering from his injuries. When he went home, his mother, who had her own health problems, thought that Alberto was different from before. Prior to his injury, he had helped her with everything around the house and did some informal work to support them (his mother was unemployed due to her poor health and received a small government disability allowance once a month).
Alberto’s mother passed away just after he turned 21. Alberto was not able to cope with this loss, nor could he pay the bills or manage their small flat on his own. As the debt started to mount and he had little to eat, he left the flat and tried begging for money on the streets of the city centre. It is here where the police arrested him after finding him sleeping rough one night. He was released to the hostel the next morning. After a few weeks at the hostel the warden finally determined that Alberto probably needed help “to get back on his feet again” and suggested that he go to the hospital. Alberto refused, saying that he was not going back there because after he “hurt his head” he had “spent enough time there, thank you”. He would also not be able to afford to see a doctor. The warden then remembered that there was a local charity based a few blocks from the hostel that works with people who have sustained brain injuries. Despite not being aware of the work of this charity, or were it was, Alberto figured that it could “do no harm” to go there. In addition, despite his best efforts, the warden had run out of options in trying to help Alberto - who is now sitting in your office...
Think about this case and decide how you would proceed in trying to help Alberto.
Case 3
Mpho started to feel unwell whilst out in the fields looking after his goats. He felt increasingly hot, even though at the altitude of his farm the temperature was almost at the point of freezing at that time of the year. He then vomited, but managed to walk home very slowly, feeling terrible. Upon arriving home, his speech was slurred and he was clearly confused. Mpho’s wife initially thought that he must have drank too much of the brewed berry spirit that they make, but she soon realised that something was seriously wrong when he fell to the floor and started shaking. With the help of her mother and a couple of their older children they put him to bed and made him comfortable. Mpho remained very ill and feverish for two weeks, sleeping most of the time. After a month or so he started to gradually improve. However, after four months it was clear that Mpho was still not himself.
Mpho’s wife then decided to take him to the clinic in the valley that was about 60 kilometres away. The clinic was open six days per week and run by two healthcare workers with the help of a nursing sister. At the clinic, Mpho had little to say when asked what was troubling him. However, his wife quickly responded by reporting that he had become “clumsy” and “lazy” since the day that he “came back funny” after being out in the fields. When pressed for more details, she said that he keeps on falling over things that are on his left-hand side and that he was also dropping things from his left hand. Furthermore, she said that he was “just very slow” and that “you have to tell him a million times before he does something”. The situation in their household was desperate and they were running out of food to eat because Mpho now fails to look after the crops and most of their goats have wandered off. Help was urgently needed to make Mpho and the situation better for them.
Brainstorm what you think may have happened to Mpho and decide what investigations are required. Also think about how you can help him and his family.
Learning Resources
Given that knowledge about the brain and brain injury is ever-evolving at an increasingly fast pace, everyone needs to keep him/herself up to date. There are many resources available to acquire such knowledge; they cover knowledge for all levels of expertise, from lay people right through to clinicians.
http://thebrain.mcgill.ca/index.php
http://thebrainhealthonlinesummit.com/
https://library.med.utah.edu/WebPath/HISTHTML/NEURANAT/NEURANCA.html
Government Resources
Many governments from around the world offer useful resources when it comes to issues related to brain injury. For example, links to funding agencies and documents pertaining to legal rights. Here follows a list of useful government resources.
Content to follow.