Read more about the article Living With Brain Injury
Quote by Rabbi Dr Milton Pine

Living With Brain Injury

Over the years I have often thought about a paper presented at a Head Injury Council of Australia (HICOA) Conference during the 1990s. Written by Rabbi Dr Milton Pine the paper was insightful, moving and a wonderful personal story of his life before and after brain injury. Some may remember I attempted to quote the last paragraph of Rabbi Dr Milton Pine’s paper in a past article about Ethics.  At the time I well remembered the impact of his final words but could not find the paper to quote directly. I have now been given a copy of the paper and permission to present the paper in full here, in the hope it may help others struggling in those early days post brain injury. This year, 25 years after acquiring a significant and life changing brain injury Rabbi Dr Milton Pine died. I knew him for a time over those years and as I said above, I was lucky enough to be…

Comments Off on Living With Brain Injury
Read more about the article Managing Celebrations after Brain Injury
Celebration after brain injury Image by

Managing Celebrations after Brain Injury

Celebrations after brain injury can be tricky. This article is updated and reposted each year before the end of year. Timed for when Christmas, Hannukah, New Year and other celebrations abound. It acknowledges that managing celebrations after brain injury can be difficult. Filled with expectation and anticipation - it does not always deliver on the promise. It would be great to hear from you about your own experiences and strategies. Managing Celebrations after Brain Injury 2015 I do not want to be accused of being the Grinch who stole Christmas, so please let me start by wishing those of you celebrating Christmas a very special time. And for everyone I hope it is a wonderful new year. Why am I in danger of being called the Grinch? Well, in the middle of a major holiday celebration, I am about to suggest that birthdays, anniversaries, Christmas, and celebrations after brain injury do not always go so well together. Expectations can be high and…

2 Comments

The Brain and Executive Function. What is Executive Function?

"What exactly is executive function?" Oh I still ask myself that question when trying to understand the brain and executive function. We know it's important - it is what enables us to play a chess game, figure out a problem, use the intelligience we have. Today I will try and explain more about the brain and executive function. Oh yes - right there is an example of the brain and executive function. Preparing an explanation about executive function - requires the use of executive function to try and make ‘Executive Function’ understandable. Phew!!! How so? To write about the brain and executive function I needed to - [unordered_list style="green-dot"] Review and sort information I have gathered from the past. Make decisions about what information is in, and what is out. Think about who might read this and what the reader needs. Finally I need to write it up in a simple way and publish it.[/unordered_list] This relies on more than the facts…

Comments Off on The Brain and Executive Function. What is Executive Function?

Tips for Making Decisions After Brain Injury

  Making the right choices. Making good decisions. Clear and simple strategies for making decisions after brain injury. While researching last weeks article on Changed Decision-Making After Brain Injury  I came across a blog; Brain Injury Self Rehabilitation by Edie a Registered Nurse.  Edie had a brain injury following an assault while at work and had written the article below - full of helpful tips to assist making decisions after brain injury. Simple tips on decision making when life is so indecisive after brain injury 09 November 2012 If you are over 18 there are no safeguards to help with your decision making.  If you make the wrong decision you are held responsible.  It doesn’t matter that your clarity of thought is disrupted, because who can tell if it’s what you want to do or it’s another decision you make carelessly?  It may be that you are easily persuaded to make decisions based on what another is telling you. Help prevent problems with…

4 Comments

Changed Decision Making After Brain Injury

  Decision making after brain injury is commonly affected particularly after Frontal Lobe damage. Decision making is an executive function. That is a fancy brain term that makes these functions sound very important - and they are! Executive functions help us use our intellect . They help us to look at information coming into the brain and decide what to do about it. Decision-making along with other executive functions (such as planning, organising, and being able to start things) are often damaged after brain injury. Brain injury, particularly frontal lobe damage can affect our flexibility and ability to make decisions. Being able to make good, thoughtful, decisions also helps other executive functions to work properly. You are more likely to be able to sort out a solution to a problem if you are able to make a decision - hopefully a good one. You can plan better if you are able to make decisions about the steps and priorities that are needed.…

1 Comment

Wondering Who You Are

When I first began working with people with  brain injury I read many memoirs about living with brain injury. It helped me understand brain injury and how it is experienced. After many years I no longer read every book. Over the past year or so I was drawn to three in particular “Flower Between the Cracks" by Helen Sage  and "To Love What Is: A Marriage Transformed" by Alix Kates Shulman and the book I write about today: “Wondering Who You Are”. How I first discovered “Wondering Who You Are” is now a bit vague in my mind. It was the foundation for an earlier article here: “Intimacy, Sex and Brain Injury” when I heard an interview with Sonya. I love to listen to audiobooks read by their author so naturally I chose to read / listen to “Wondering Who You Are” as an audio book read by author Sonya Lea. It kept me transfixed travelling to and from my home to the…

Comments Off on Wondering Who You Are

To Say or Not To Say – What to Say After Brain Injury – Part 2

  Tips on What 'To Say' When a Person Has A Brain Injury or Other Life Changes. The previous article "To Say or Not To Say - After Brain Injury Part 1" looked at what people say that sometimes can be hurtful, unhelpful and at times damaging albeit with good intentions. Today some tips and alternatives for what to say after brain injury to ensure more positive communication. Most of the links in the previous article also contain alternative and better ways to communicate. Here are a few more: 10 Things People with a Brain injury would like to hear A simple list of statements and questions from Brainline that might be helpful, or at least less upsetting than the “what not to say’ statements. Examples like – “I will bring you some delicious healthy brain foods and snacks — and come to sweep and do laundry, but don't worry, I won't stay too long.” “Take your time — we are not…

Comments Off on To Say or Not To Say – What to Say After Brain Injury – Part 2

To Say or Not To Say – After Brain Injury Part 1

Recently I have received several letters from people living with brain injury wanting to know how to handle people who say hurtful things, or who say things that are supposed to be motivating but are instead are a reminder of loss. “If you put your mind to it you can do anything”. Timely, when this week when I came across an article entitled “9 things not to say to a wheelchair user” it reminded me of other articles I have read about what to say, and what not to say when a person has a brain injury.  We all know words can build us up, or break us down, and most often the speaker does not mean them to be harmful. So today as a reminder to all of us.  Articles that give clues on what not to say when a person has a brain injury or other life changes. Next week in Part 2 some suggestions on what you might say.…

5 Comments

Strategies for Organisation Planning and Problem Solving After Brain Injury

Difficulties with organizing, starting things (initiating),  putting things in the right order (sequencing), making plans and sorting out priorities are common cognitive outcomes of brain injury, particularly when the frontal lobe is damaged. I recently received a letter asking about  strategies for organisation planning and problem solving. How can you organize your own life, and that of your family, when you have trouble with planning and organizing after brain injury. This question inspired this series of articles. Last week Brain Injury Difficulty Problem-Solving and Planning looked at what can happen after brain injury. Today tips and strategies for organisation planning and problem solving that might be useful after brain injury. These functions are what you might see termed as “Executive functions”. (brief explanation near the end in  “What Does Cognitive Mean”) All this sounds sort of business talk and that is kind of what executive functions are really – the business end of the brain, figuring things out, making things happen. We…

1 Comment

Brain Injury Difficulty Problem Solving and Planning

Most of us at some time have trouble trying to work out how to solve a problem. Or maybe we can’t seem to make a decision, or we make a decision and then think “Why did I ever do that”. Brain injury, particularly when it involves the frontal lobe, such as after  trauma, stroke, dementia, tumour,  commonly results in similar difficulty with working through a problem, planning, organizing and putting steps in the right order. After brain injury it is different - it might not go away. Today a look at what happens when planning, organization and putting things in the right order are not happening as they should. Next week some strategies that might be helpful to work around planning and organization issues after brain injury.   Definitions What is planning? "“Planning” is the ability to choose how to do a task, and to list all the steps of the task. Planning also requires the person to decide what they will…

2 Comments