Traumatic brain injury to children traditionally has been thought of as being a condition that is likely to resolve given the overall resiliency of a child or infant. This principle was originally announced by neurologist Margaret Kennard in the 1930s. After publishing her initial findings Dr. Kennard went on to conduct further research and retreated from those earlier findings to some extent. More recent research indicates that children, in fact, may be more vulnerable to long term traumatic brain injury than are adults. Exactly how vulnerable is a function of age, severity of injury and any other prior or concurring injuries or illnesses experienced by the child. The younger the child is the more disabling the injury frequently is.
What is critical is that as soon as possible after the injury the child must undergo rigorous rehabilitation consisting of physical therapy, continuation of the daily routine, re-establishing any knowledge base that may have been lost and reintegration into home, school and community life as soon as appropriate. If those things are undertaken as quickly as possible, then the overall prognosis for recovery is better.
For more information about brain injury see the other pages on this site
If a child of yours has suffered traumatic brain injury, contact us.
