Each year in the United States, over 630,000 children and teenagers receive emergency treatment for traumatic brain injuries (TBI). It is important to understand that people who experience mild to moderate brain injuries are “two times more likely to have developed attention problems and those with severe injuries are five times more likely to develop secondary ADHD.”
A study presented in February at the annual meeting of the Association of Academic Physiatrists detailed the results of a research study conducted at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center. The study looked at the long-term effects of TBI on children (specifically an average of seven years post injury).
A finding from the study showed that the family environment “influences the development of these attention problems.” Specifically:
“Children with severe TBI in optimal environments may show few effects of their injuries while children with milder injuries from disadvantaged or chaotic homes often demonstrate persistent problems.”
“Early family response may be particularly important for long-term outcomes suggesting that working to promote effective parenting may be an important early intervention.”
“Certain skills that can affect social functioning, such as speed of information processing, inhibition, and reasoning, show greater long-term effects.”
“Many children do very well long-term after brain injury and most do not have across the board deficits.”
