Search

f) Severity of ABI Next g)

i) Introduction

SLIDES: To pause: Hover mouse over slide. To continue: move mouse off slide.
To go to a specific slide: Click on slide numbers below.

i) Introduction

Common categories for severity of ABI (with examples of sudden onset ABIs are):

Mild

e.g. good physical recovery, limited concentration, able to go back to previous work
10% of all people with a mild brain injury experience lifetime problems with living and learning.

Moderate

e.g. motor coordination difficulties, inability to organise, may require different work
33% of all people with a moderate brain injury experience lifetime problems with living and learning

Severe

e.g. decreased ability or inability to control movement, decreased ability or inability to communicate, requires support with daily living, not able to work or able to go back to work with return to work programs and support.
90% of all people with a severe brain injury experience lifetime problems with living and learning.

Very severe

e.g. inability to control movement, inability to communicate, requires 24 hour support; e.g. very severe ABI with minimal or no physical injury but still requires 24 hour support because of cognitive difficulties.

 

 

 

ii) Ray has an ABI (5 mins)

   

Ray has an acquired brain injury (ABI).

Click on the image to go to the video player.

Watch a short story of her on video.

Answer the following questions

What was the cause of Rays ABI?
What impairments were caused?
What part of the brain was injured?
How severe was Ray's brain injury?
   Check your answers here.

What was the cause of Rays ABI?

Stroke
Hypoxia
Alcohol
Trauma
Degenerative disease
Tumour
Other

What two impairments were caused?

Sight problems
Word finding problems
Memory problems
Limited understanding of consequences
Problems with decision making
Other

What part of the brain was injured?

Frontal lobe
Parietal lobe
Temporal lobe
Occipital lobe
Cerebellum
Brain stem

How severe was Ray's brain injury?

Mild
Moderate
Severe
Extremely severe

iii) Scott has an ABI

     


Scott has an acquired brain injury (ABI).

Click on the image to go to the video player.

Watch a short story of her on video.

Answer the following questions

What was the cause of Scott's ABI?
What impairments were caused?
How severe was the injury?
 Check your answers here

What was the cause of Scott's ABI?

Trauma
Stroke
Hypoxic/Anoxic
Alcohol related

What impairments were caused?

Mobility problems
Communication problems
Muscle atrophy
Multiple other impairments

How severe was the injury?

Mild
Moderate
Severe
Extremely severe

 

iv) Indicators for severity for TBI, stroke and hypoxia-anoxia

For ABI caused by trauma, stroke and hypoxia-anoxia there is an indication of the severity of the injury at the time of the injury.
Injuries from these causes have a sudden onset. At the time of the injury the indicators of the severity of the injury are:

• the level of consciousness (measured by the Glasgow Coma Scale)
• the length of unconsciousness.

For TBI an additional indicator at the time of the injury of the severity of the injury is the length of post traumatic amnesia ( a period during which the person is not orientated to time, place, person, and is unable to learn, and may display disinhibition, irritable or agitated behaviour).

These indicators allow an initial assessment of the degree of severity to be made at the time of the injury.

v) Indicators for severity for alcohol, tumours and degenerative neurological diseases

For injuries caused by alcohol, tumours and degenerative neurological diseases indicators such as length of unconsciousness do not apply.

The severity of the brain injury caused by degenerative diseases is linked with the progression of the disease. A medical assessment provides an indication of the degree of severity of the associated brain injury and likely progression of the disease.

The severity of the brain injury from alcohol is determined by extent of cognitive impairments and impacts on behaviour. These can be assessed through neurological assessments and functional independence assessments

vi) Functional indicators of severity

The ongoing severity of the brain injury is determined by extent of cognitive impairments and impacts on behaviour. These can be assessed through:

• neuropsychological assessments (which assess cognitive functioning)
• functional independence assessments (which assess the degree of supports required).

Answer the questions

At the time of a stroke what are two indicators of the severity of the brain injury?
What are two best indicators of the severity of a traumatic brain injury a couple of years after the injury?
   Check your answers

A the time of a stroke what are two indicators of the severity of the brain injury?

the level of consciousness
the length of post traumatic amnesia
the length of unconsciousness
functional independence assessments
neuropsychological assessments

What are two best indicators of the severity of a traumatic brain injury a couple of years after the injury?

the length of post traumatic amnesia at the time of the injury
functional independence assessments
neuropsychological assessments
the length of unconsciousness at the time of the injury