When a child experiences a brain injury, finding effective ways to deal with the long-term effects may require special support and assistance for the child and the family. Often these needs are most sharply felt when the child returns to school.

In response to these needs, the Iowa Department of Education has created Brain Injury Resource Teams at each AEA in order to meet the needs of children with brain injuries. In addition, a state brain injury consultant provides technical assistance to the teams.

AEA Brain Injury Resource Teams are a resource for:

• Students with brain injury
• Parents and other family members
• School personnel
• Rehabilitation and hospital staff

Brain Injury Resource Teams are multidisciplinary. They may include representatives from the fields of:

• Education
• Nursing
• Occupational therapy
• Physical therapy
• Psychology
• Social work
• Speech/language pathology

Each team has a contact person whose role is to facilitate communication among agencies.

Team members participate in workshops and conferences in order to increase their skills as consultants. They also provide presentations to educate parent groups, emergency medical personnel, schools and other agencies about the issues surrounding brain injury.

Two approaches are used to deal with this issue: Prevention and the Iowa Model for School ReEntry.

Prevention

Reports from the Iowa Central Registry for Brain and Spinal Cord Injuries indicate that 2,000-3,000 people in Iowa sustain a brain injury each year. About one-third of the people who are injured are children. The most common causes of childhood brain injury are:

• Falls
• Motor vehicle accidents
• Sports injuries
• Assaults
• Bicycle accidents

Brain Injury Resource Teams work with other community agencies and organizations, such as TIPS (Traumatic Injury Prevention Strategies) and the Iowa SAFE KIDS Coalition, to design prevention activities dealing with:

• Bicycle safety
• Farm safety
• Playground safety
• Auto safety, using car seats and seat belts

The Iowa Model for School ReEntry

In order to ease the transition of students back to the classroom following a brain injury, AEA Brain Injury Teams and hospital discharge planners have created The Iowa Model for School ReEntry. This model helps to ensure that a student’s social, emotional, educational, and medical needs are identified and met. It emphasizes the importance of good communication among the family, the school, medical providers and other involved agencies.

For More Information…

Call your local AEA contact person for more information about:

• The Brain Injury Resource Team in your area
• The Iowa Model for School ReEntry
• Brain Injury prevention activities in your community

Or contact:

Questions or Comments?

Other Sources:

• National Brain Injury Association – http://www.biausa.org
• Brain Injury Association of Iowa – http://biaia.org
• National Resource Center for TBI – http://www.neuro.pmr.vcu.edu