Potential outcomes of brain injury including behaviour, cognitive, social, emotional.
My wish upon on a star would be that ‘undiagnosed brain injury’ and ‘mis-diagnosed brain injury’ no longer happens. And while I have a star to wish on - can we also have world peace please. Despite better understanding of brain injury, more sophisticated and efficient diagnostic tools, undiagnosed brain injury continues to happen - and more often than we would wish. Today Synapse have kindly given permission for me to reprint an article they published in 2011. The magazine “Bridge” is now called Synapse. This links to a previous article on Changed Lives New Journeys Diagnosis and Mis-Diagnosis of Brain Injury The Synapse article reprinted below adds further knowledge about groups at risk of sustaining an undiagnosed brain injury. I would welcome comments from other countries. While this article speaks of the Australian experience I suspect undiagnosed brain injury within these groups is universal. I also note this article was written in 2011 and I believe not much has changed today. THE…
A neuropsychological assessment after brain injury is often recommended. In my experience this can be a source of worry to people living with brain injury and their families. Concerns include how this will be done and what the benefit will be. A support worker recently asked me how they could support a person who was about to have a neuropsychological assessment after brain injury. This lead me to try and answer some common questions here. This article will briefly look at: [unordered_list style="tick"] Why Neuropsychological assessment might be done. Steps that might be taken to prepare for the assessment. What is likely to happen in the assessment. What is assessed. What a person living with brain injury, and their family might get from the assessment. [/unordered_list] Why Undertake A Neuropsychological Assessment After Brain Injury? To provide information to people involved; For the person with the injury, their family and supporters such as where damage might have occurred and its impact on…
End of Life and a good death. Image by Chris Scott
Can we help to make our end of life a good death for ourselves and for others? What tips and strategies might contribute to having our needs and wishes met? To make our end of life a good death. The first article in this series To Talk or Not To Talk About: End of Life A Good Death describes a number of issues that lead me to this discussion about end of life a good death. The second article A Good Death: End of Life and Dying contains thoughts about why it is important to consider and discuss our needs beforehand. I remember many years ago in a local hospital a young husband and wife, both of whom were dying from terminal illnesses. Both had been, and continued to be rebellious and forthright. Many hospital staff were unable to cope. The couple challenged others owing to their black humour - jokes about who would die first; their insistence on wearing brief black clothing as they…
End of Life: Fisheye view by Chris Scott
The time leading up to the end of life - after brain injury - or at any time, is a topic one should maybe leave alone. I want to talk about it. I believe we should all talk about it. I know it is thought to be a private subject, yet what happens at the end of our life while very personal, is also universal. We can easily forget end of life can happen at any age, not just old age. And one day it has to happen to all of us. So why not talk about it. I have always believed it needs to be talked about more openly and naturally. My own experience, early in 2014, when my father was dying made this even more important for me. So here, and for the next 2 weeks I am sharing my own thoughts, and resources I have discovered. My hope is to encourage more natural and fear-less discussion about end of life and…
Happy Anniversary Changed Lives New Journeys – it is two years and 110 posts since I began writing this blog, about brain injury. I thought I would choose a random selection of 10 favourite posts about brain injury from the past two years. The following are chosen for a range of reasons which I will try and summarise below: 1. A Space Known as Liminal and Traumatic Brain Injury. This article was one I really enjoyed from idea to publishing. From research to writing. It also drew more comment and conversation than any other post. 2. “I’m So Tired My Brain Hurts” Cognitive Fatigue. Cognitive fatigue has been the topic that has drawn the most interest and comment. And it continues to do so. 3. Storytelling and Storylistening: Brain Injury Through Stories Through researching this article I was able to share a little about how I can follow ideas and end up in a very different place to…
How do you manage sudden or escalating challenging behaviour after brain injury, or any time? Damage to the brain, for example the frontal lobe, can sometimes cause changes in behaviour after brain injury. Sometimes this results in behaviour that challenges supporters and people around. It can also result in behaviour that is unpredictable. Even with an agreed behaviour plan in place; sudden, explosive or escalating behaviour can still occur. This will often need immediate support and management from family, supporters, or people who are close by. It can be difficult to respond quickly and effectively when you are taken aback by the behaviour, you are in a public space, it is a behaviour you find difficult to tolerate it is something you have not managed before. Responding To Immediate Challenging Behaviours When you are with a person who has unpredictable challenging behaviours, the likelihood of needing a strategy ‘on the run’ to call on in emergency situations is high.…
Learning to Say Maleesh by Rebecca Viney
An Interview with Rebecca Viney, 25th September 2014 A meeting with Rebecca Viney whose most recent creative achievement is to author a book “Learning To Say Maleesh” led me face the learning curve and bring audio recording to Changed Lives New Journeys . Bec is a multi-talented woman who featured in an article A Pink Bunny, Creativity, and Brain Injury focussing on a small number of people I knew who had explored a range of creative paths . It was (and is) my intention to bring interviews with each of those creative people to you. The hiccup and time delay has been my need to learn audio stuff. Today I bring you my first attempt at interviewing live, transcribing and audio editing. Bec agreed to be the first. Forgive me if the editing here is somewhat clumsy I hope to build on my skills with time! Our Interview About "Learning To Say Maleesh", Life and Brain Injury So I’ll go through the questions and you just answer…
Image by hisk at RGBstock.com
Writing an article for a newsletter early in 2014 coincided with the realisation I have been working alongside people with brain injury and their families for over 25 years! I was asked to submit an article to a Newsletter prepared by the Senior Masters Office in Melbourne, Australia for their many beneficiaries. This request also came at a time when my father’s condition deteriorated after years of living with Dementia. I wrote IMAGINE, about thoughts I had when Dad died in April 2014. What follows is a reprint of the article originally published in the Senior Masters Office. You can also see this in the Newsletter along with other information published by the Senior Masters Office. A Few Short Lessons Learned About Brain Injury My father has advanced dementia, as I sat with him recently I thought about what an extraordinary organ the brain is. It can help us achieve incredible things. Yet it can also cause all sorts of…
Here are a random selection of my memorable moments of 2014 out of the 45,000 words -give or take a few - written on Changed Lives New Journey. Just before I begin - forgive the lack of a numbered list. Grrrrrr - Consider all those little 1's below. Usually I spend hours getting the post to look as right as possible. Today the time to correct this numbering overwhelmed me and I decided to leave it as is, for the world to see. An example of the imperfections that occur, due to my lack of knowledge about what goes on in the world of web stuff. Receiving my Criptiques publication in the mail. A book of short stories by authors with disabilities challenging and provoking thought on a whole range of life themes. Writing “A Rant for Remembrance Day: Traumatic Brain Injury in Soldiers “ and realising the world would not end if I let off steam about things…
Reduced speed of information processing: I have a picture of an information superhighway with information flying along at great speed. Suddenly it is thrown into chaos because some stuff begins to slow down and not follow the rules. These slower pieces get in the way of other information whizzing along and the information superhighway is disrupted. What does information processing look like? How does it affect the function of the brain? What Is Information Processing? Let’s start with a challenge: Can I write a very simple description of ‘Information processing’ that is able to be understood? Here goes: 'Information processing' is part of what the brain needs to do so we can function efficiently: The brain needs to quickly sort out, and prioritise all the millions and millions of inputs it receives, from all parts of the body, every second of every day. It then has to decide on the spot what to action now, what to keep for later,…
