Traumatic Brain Injury: Myths and Misconceptions
Traumatic Brain Injury: Myths, Misconceptions and the Need for Lifelong Healthcare
I don’t have a droopy face, a steel plate in my head, nor am I paralyzed in any region of my body. I have a speech impediment and disfluency, cognitive fatigue, short term memory loss, slow processing of information, noise sensitivity, and attention deficit. I look “normal” and I have a traumatic brain injury (TBI).
Social prejudice and negative perceptions of survivors of Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) exist. There is a bias, though subtle and underlying, against people with disabilities especially those with closed head injuries. Although there are no obviously visible physical signs, there are disabilities that are not evident of the injury. Thus, it is human nature to “judge a book by its cover,” especially when there is already a preset image of the disabled. There are several questions and/or comments usually made about people with TBI; “they look ok,” “are you retarded?” (A question that was asked after hearing the disabled person speak), “Well, you’re working and doing the same thing before the accident; that means you’re better and no longer have a brain injury and don’t really need any more medical assistance.” These are some of the blatant negative perceptions that are presented to someone with a TBI. What the general (normal) population does not consider is the long-term effects of TBI on the individual.
There is no “typical” person with TBI. In discussing the immediate and residual effects of TBI, there are dimensions that vary in several extents. Brain functioning, cognitive skills, behavior changes, and social skills are some of the areas affected by TBI. What is most crucial for understanding people with TBI is to know what happens when a person suffers a brain injury. While I will not go through the medical determinants of what happens to the brain after a head injury, I will argue that the lack of awareness and education is what’s manifesting the myths about
I don’t have a droopy face, a steel plate in my head, nor am I paralyzed in any region of my body. I have a speech impediment and disfluency, cognitive fatigue, short term memory loss, slow processing of information, noise sensitivity, and attention deficit. I look “normal” and I have a traumatic brain injury (TBI).
Social prejudice and negative perceptions of survivors of Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) exist. There is a bias, though subtle and underlying, against people with disabilities especially those with closed head injuries. Although there are no obviously visible physical signs, there are disabilities that are not evident of the injury. Thus, it is human nature to “judge a book by its cover,” especially when there is already a preset image of the disabled. There are several questions and/or comments usually made about people with TBI; “they look ok,” “are you retarded?” (A question that was asked after hearing the disabled person speak), “Well, you’re working and doing the same thing before the accident; that means you’re better and no longer have a brain injury and don’t really need any more medical assistance.” These are some of the blatant negative perceptions that are presented to someone with a TBI. What the general (normal) population does not consider is the long-term effects of TBI on the individual.
There is no “typical” person with TBI. In discussing the immediate and residual effects of TBI, there are dimensions that vary in several extents. Brain functioning, cognitive skills, behavior changes, and social skills are some of the areas affected by TBI. What is most crucial for understanding people with TBI is to know what happens when a person suffers a brain injury. While I will not go through the medical determinants of what happens to the brain after a head injury, I will argue that the lack of awareness and education is what’s manifesting the myths about
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