Traumatic brain injury or Concussion

You may have a mild to moderate traumatic brain injury (TBI) or concussion if you sustained a serious blow to the head and afterward had:

  • headaches
  • confusion
  • lightheadedness
  • dizziness
  • blurred vision or tired eyes
  • fatigue or lethargy
  • ringing in the ears
  • a change in sleep patterns
  • behavioral or mood changes
  • trouble with memory, concentration, attention, or thinking
If the blow was more severe, afterward, you may have had:
  • a headache that gets worse or does not go away
  • repeated vomiting or nausea
  • convulsions or seizures
  • an inability to awaken from sleep
  • dilation of one or both pupils of the eyes
  • slurred speech
  • weakness or numbness in the extremities
  • loss of coordination
  • increased confusion, restlessness, or agitation.
These are the most frequent traumatic brain injury or concussion symptoms. The first step is immediate medical attention. Some difficulties may persist after an initial period of healing. Although the brain does not heal from an injury in the same way other parts of our body does, recovery is often possible through a program of rehabilitation.  If you continue to struggle after your injury, you may want a thorough neuropsychological evaluation.

Sleep disruption and anxiety are very common symptoms of traumatic brain injury or concussion. Depression is found three times more often in people with traumatic brain injury then in the general population. So you may want treatment to address these brain injury symptoms as well.

Post-concussive syndrome

If you had a concussion and the symptoms lasted for weeks or longer after the concussion event or accident, you may have post-concussive syndrome. Research suggests that those who have experienced multiple concussions are at a higher risk of developing the longer lasting symptoms of post-concussive disorder.

Assessment

A careful assessment is the first step on your path forward. For a traumatic brain injury or concussion, you will need a careful look at traumatic brain injury or concussion symptoms. In addition, a comprehensive evaluation of all aspects of thinking and problem solving is needed in a neuropsychological assessment. We will use multiple tests to look carefully at many areas of your functioning, including intelligence, language, perceptual and visual-spatial abilities, speed of processing, memory, learning, attention. Learn more.

Treatment

Brain injury really shakes up your life. Brain injury symptoms are usually multiple.  You might feel that everything in life is now different. You might feel depressed and anxious. Individual therapy may help you come to terms with the injury and move on. Family therapy may be useful so that the family can work together and know how to assist the member with a brain injury. It is also possible to improve brain function after a brain injury using innovative methods for brain training. Learn more.

Brain injury treatment based on neuroplasticity

traumatic brain injury textingDo you do a lot of text messaging? If you do, then research has shown that your brain is reshaping itself to give you better control of your thumbs.  Did you know that violinists have a larger portion of their brains devoted to control of and sensation in the left hand than the rest of us? Repeated practice results in brain change to provide the enormous control and sensitivity that a violinist needs in his left hand.

Although we are all born with “hard wiring” – networks of neurons and connecting fibers – our brains are constantly being shaped by experience. Repeated experience results in increased connections among neurons and in greater strength in the existing connections.  These small changes, frequently enough repeated, lead to changes in how our brains work.  This process is called neuroplasticity.

This is the new frontier in mental and behavioral health care – treatments that harness the brain’s capacity for change.  At the NeuroDevelopment Center, we study the research on new treatments based on neuroplasticity and make them available to our clients when initial research is positive.  For our clients with traumatic brain injury, we offer several treatment approaches that make use of the brain’s amazing capacity for change – neurofeedback, Cogmed working memory training, and Interactive metronome. Learn more. 

Learn more about traumatic brain injury

Get started now:

You can schedule your first visit with one of our psychologists to begin on your path forward. Contact us to provide some basic information so that we can select the right professional to address your specific concerns.
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Contact us now to assist you in finding the solution that is right for you.