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Conquering Education after Brain Injury

Featured Content

in Concussion, Headache
February 16, 2020
0
Conquering Education after Brain Injury

by Kellie Pokrifka

Pursuing education is a deeply personal and individualized matter. The journey of every single student is unique. Following a brain injury, these differences are even more pronounced. Learning to accept your journey without comparison to others is critical. If we can achieve this, we become our own advocates versus just another obstacle. 

Here are a few ways we can be our own best advocates to help us succeed in returning to school after brain injury:

Get an IEP in place before returning to school – About 1 million children sustain a TBI each year. Only 438, or .25% (less than one percent!) of these kids will receive an IEP, or special education plan. This lack of identification and accommodation leads to drastic inequalities and disadvantages. The dropout rate of those with learning disabilities, including those resulting from brain injury, is triple that of the average student. Not only do you morally deserve accommodations, you legally deserve them. It is your legal right to have equal access to public education.

Complete neuropsychological testing – Neuropsychologists can help identify specific learning deficits and can provide a wide range of strategies to help offset these difficulties. Identifying specific difficulties helps to identify specific solutions. This added help can drastically pay off. Consider your neuropsychologist your coach for going back to school.

Utilize computer-assisted learning – Take advantage of what technology has to offer. Textbooks can be converted with text-to-speech software. Lectures can be recorded. PowerPoint slides can be printed off prior to that lecture. All of these steps can help decrease the possibility of overstimulation and depletion of our cognitive reserve. 

Implement the Pomodoro Technique – This strategy is also used to prevent neurofatigue and overstimulation. It uses timed intervals to give “brain breaks.” The standard protocol states that for every 20 minutes spent studying, a 5-minute resting period is required. However, these numbers will need to be individualized for each student. 

Schedule classes appropriately – Many schools tend to adopt strict attendance policies. However, these policies are not designed for students with disabilities. Work closely with the school (disabilities office, guidance counselor, principal, teacher, etc.) to design a policy that will actually benefit the student. Consider your specific needs. Are your symptoms worse in the mornings? Schedule afternoon classes. Can classes be scheduled every other day so that there is ample time off for rest and doctors’ appointments? Education is difficult enough without having to fight against our own bodies.

Be confident in your advocacy – Brain injury really forces you to learn how to advocate for yourself. We need to advocate to our doctors to take our health seriously. We need to advocate to society to treat us with respect. And we certainly need to advocate to our schools to support us and provide proper accessibility. This process is extremely challenging. It can be a disheartening and demoralizing process. Keep your confidence throughout this process. Remember that regardless of how your message is received, you deserve these accommodations. You deserve this respect. Nothing is more important than your health, and nobody knows your own needs better than you do. 

Kellie is a TBI survivor and works as an intermediary between the experts and the patients with brain injuries.

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  • It was such a pleasure to keynote at the @biaofms NeuroTrauma Symposium last Friday. What an amazing group of professionals and survivors. I found some new resources I didn’t even know existed out there!! 

#bia #braininjury #concussion #tbi #pcs #keynote #brainhealth #neuroplasticity
  • Neuro fatigue is beyond tired, it’s when you’re brain says “I’ve had enough” and shuts down everything. It often a sneaks up on you when you least expect it, making it hard to manage. 

If you’ve never experienced it, it’s truly hard to understand. But please believe us when we tell you we’re done and need to rest. And that rest may look different for everyone. Some may need a nap. Some may just need a quiet space. There’s no right or wrong way to rest. 

#braininjury #tbi #pcs #concussion #braininjuryawareness #braininjuryawarenessmonth #TBIsurvivor
  • A traumatic brain injury is the ultimate “invisible injury” as no one can see what’s happening inside your brain. Even imaging doesn’t show a TBI (unless you have bleeding or severe trauma). It’s impossible to explain to others, and even doctors don’t take us seriously or know how to help us. 

It is incredibly frustrating to go through life being told “there’s nothing we can do. You’ll just have to give it more time and see what happens” and even more frustrating when you find out that there are doctors out there who truly DO know how to help us!  Like @integratedbraincenters 

#braininjury #tbi #pcs #concussion #functionalneurology #braininjuryawareness
  • I remember how I would literally need to lay down after taking a shower because it was so exhausting. And something like going to the grocery store and bringing them in and putting them away would require me to do nothing else for the rest of the day. It was a one-chore kind of activity. 

These are normal, every day things we take for granted before brain injury, and afterwards they require soooo much energy and effort. It’s truly hard for someone who hasn’t experienced a brain injury to understand. 💚

#braininjury #tbi #concussion #pcs #braininjuryawareness #TBIsurvivor
  • You totally got this!! 
Is it gonna be easy? Nope. 
Is it gonna be worth it? Absolutely! 

#tbi #braininjury #concussion #pcs #TBIrecovery #TBIsurvivor
  • The Chair Yoga Pocket Guide is trending on Kickstarter! We’re over half-way to our goal! Can you help us get there by pre-ordering an autographed copy of the book?? 

LINK IN BIO 

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  • I remember folks would talk to me and my brain would take forever to process what they were saying. They would be into the next subject and I’d still be trying to decipher their first sentence. It was frustrating and exhausting. 

Friends would tell me to “try harder” and concentrate. But that’s not how it works with brain injury. 

It’s like if you drop your laptop and scramble it’s processor. 

#braininjury #concussion #tbi #pcs #braininjuryawareness #braininjuryawarenessmonth #TBIsurvivor
  • #Repost @integratedbraincenters
Recovery as defined in the dictionary is a return to a normal state of health, mind, or strength. 

Missing from this definition is that recovery is a continuum. We often hear in recovery post surgery that a patient is a percent recovered (Sue is 80% recovered post hip replacement) demonstrating that recovery is not an all or nothing situation but is rather a spectrum. 

Not everyone will make a 100% recovery but most people can move forward in their recovery in some way, even if it is only 10% or 70%. 

To say that recovery is not possible in any capacity is probably untrue. The more severe the injury the more likely you will never be the same person you were prior, but that does not mean that you can’t get back to doing the things you love and contribute to your family and community.

#beaininjury #concussion #tbi #pcs #neuroplasticity #resilience #resiliency #TBIsurvivor
  • No two brain injuries are the same, therefore, no two recoveries are the same. Don’t compare yours against someone else’s, as you never know what they’ve already gone through. 

Focus on YOU and your recovery. What could you try differently? What should you maybe give up? I personally gave up alcohol and gluten and that was huge for me and my inflammation. 

#braininjury #concussion #tbi #pcs #neuroplasticity #functionalneurology #funcneuro #neuronerd

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