Every day, children and adolescents worldwide return to the educational setting having sustained a traumatic brain injury (TBI). The possible negative consequences of TBI range from mild to severe and include neurological, cognitive, emotional, social, and behavioral difficulties. Within the school setting, the negative effects of TBI tend to persist or worsen over time, often resulting in academic and social difficulties that require formal and informal educational assistance and support. School psychologists and other educational professionals are well-positioned to help ensure students with TBI receive this assistance and support. Working with Traumatic Brain Injury in Schools is a comprehensive practitioner-oriented guide to effective school-based services for students who have experienced a TBI. It is primarily written for school-based professionals who have limited or no neurological or neuropsychological training; however, it contains educational information that is useful to professionals with extensive knowledge in neurology and/or neuropsychology. This book is also written for parents and guardians of students with TBI because of their integral role in the transition, school-based assessment, and school-based intervention processes. Chapter topics include: basic brain anatomy and physiology; head injury and severity level classifications; biomechanics of injury; injury recovery and rehabilitation; neurological, cognitive, emotional, behavioral, social, and academic consequences; understanding community-based assessment findings; a framework for school-based assessment (TBI-SNNAP); school-based psychoeducational report writing, and school-based interventions; monitoring pharmacological interventions; and prevention. An accompanying website includes handouts, sample reports, and training templates to assist professionals in recognizing and responding to students with TBI.

This is a comprehensive, must-have reference that provides parents with the support and information they need to help their child recover from a closed-head injury and prevent further incidents. Coping with traumatic brain injury (TBI) involves a complex process of readjustment to the changes in a once healthy child and affects everyone in the family. Traumatic brain injury occurs when the brain abruptly and violently moves within the skull as a result of extreme force to the head during an automobile, biking, or playground accident, for example. The effects of TBI can range from mild to severe and recovery can take from weeks to years. Although each child's condition is unique, all TBI patients experience impairment in one or more of the following areas: cognition; emotion/behaviour; and motor skills. While TBI can happen to anyone, children, particularly teens, are susceptible. And, children who have already had one TBI are at greatest risk. Written by a team of medical specialists, therapists, educators, and an attorney, the book covers: what is traumatic brain injury?; medical concerns; rehabilitation and treatments; coping and adjustment; effects on learning and thinking, speech and language, and behaviour; educational needs; and legal issues. Throughout the book, a case study of a boy who was injured at age eight, illustrates the effects of TBI on education, socialisation and independence. Parent statements at the end of each chapter attest to the variety of response families have, and offer insight about the experience of raising a child with TBI. A resource guide of support and advocacy organisations, a reading list, and glossary round out this authoritative guide. This book is useful to professionals who provide services to children with TBI and their families. General and special educators will find it essential reading to help their students with TBI. But most of all, the book gives parents the hope and facts they need to improve the outcome of their child's recovery.

When Lee Siegel went to India to do research for a book on Sanskrit horror literature, a friend in New Delhi told him about an itinerant teller of ghost and vampire tales, a man with clusters of amulets around his neck and a silk top hat with peacock plumes on his head. Siegel set out in search of the old man—called Brahm Kathuwala—to hear his stories and to learn about his uncommon life. But what started out as a study of other people's stories became a compelling story itself. City of Dreadful Night is an astonishing work of fiction, a tangle of tales that transports the reader from the Medieval India of magicians, witches, and vampires, through the British India of Brahm Kathuwala's childhood, into the chaos and political terror of contemporary India. Vividly recreating Indian literary and oral traditions, Siegel weaves a web of possession, reincarnation, and magical transformation unlike any found in the Western tradition. Flesh-eating demons, Rajiv Gandhi's assassin, even Bram Stoker and Dracula populate the serpentine narrative, which intermingles stories about the characters with the terrifying tales they tell. Siegel pursues Brahm Kathuwala from the ghastly lights of the cremation ground at Banaras through villages all over north India. Brahm's life story is revealed through countless tales along the way. We learn that he was raised, and abandoned, by two mothers—one the destitute floor sweeper who bore him; the other her employer, a wealthy Irish woman who read and reread to him the story of Dracula. We hear of his marriage to the daughter of a cremation ground attendant, his battles against her demonic possession, and their painful parting. We come to understand the daily life and motivations of this "horror professional," who uses terrifying tales to ward off the evil he himself fears. This unorthodox book is more than a story; it blends scholarship, fantasy, travelogue, and autobiography—fusing and overlapping historical accounts and newscasts, literary texts and films, dreams and nocturnal tales. Siegel uses imagination to explore the relation of real terror to horror fiction and to contemplate the ways fear and disgust become thrilling elements in stories of the macabre. This book is the product of Siegel's deep knowledge of both Indian and Western literary and philosophical traditions. It is also an attempt to come to grips with the omnipresence of political and religious terror in contemporary India. Shocking, original, beautifully written, City of Dreadful Night offers readers a captivating immersion in the wonder and terror of India, past and present.

The return to school following traumatic brain injury (TBI) is fraught with challenges for children and adolescents, their families, and school professionals. This volume provides the practical knowledge needed to understand the neuropsychological problems associated with TBI and facilitate students' reintegration into the regular or special education classroom. Research-based strategies are presented for assessing and accommodating each student's needs, with suggestions for testing that can be completed by practitioners without extensive neuropsychological training. Featuring numerous illustrative clinical examples, the book also includes an extended case history that brings to life the entire process of recovery from TBI. Reviewing basic neuroanatomy, the book first discusses the functional problems and areas of learning difficulty that typically arise from different types of injury. It explores the associated emotional challenges and issues facing families, emphasizing the importance of working closely with parents and building effective home-school partnerships. Identified and briefly described are over 30 psychological measures that can be used to evaluate cognitive and academic skills; memory and learning; attention; executive and reasoning skills; visual-motor and perceptual skills; and psychosocial, emotional, and behavioral functioning. Detailed sample assessments are provided for two students with injuries of varying severity, showing how test results and other information can be integrated into a useful comprehensive report. Guidelines are then presented for managing school reentry and conducting team-based planning and decision making. General programming considerations are discussed, as are specific interventions that incorporate knowledge from the fields of ADHD, learning disabilities, and adult rehabilitation. Written in a clear, non-technical style, this book is an essential resource for school psychologists, counselors, and social workers; special education professionals; and other clinicians working with young people. It will also serve as a text in graduate-level neuropsychological assessment courses.

Amanda's Fall, with charming illustrations by Bijan Samaddar, depicts an event common in schools today. Young Amanda gets a concussion after falling and hitting her head during recess. While she can hear people talking, she cannot respond. Amanda is taken to a doctor for evaluation. Wisely, her parents ask for a prognosis, which in Amanda’s case, is a good one. Author Kelly Darmofal offers readers her third book on TBI (Traumatic Brain Injury), encouraging parents and caretakers to alert schools and, hopefully, doctors when any child is concussed; side effects can then be ameliorated. Studies show that Traumatic Brain Injuries represent the leading cause of death and disability in young adults in industrialized countries. According to the CDC, at least 564,000 children are seen each year for brain injury in hospital emergency departments and released. "Kelly Darmofal worked hard on recovering from severe TBI, and gained the special gift of ability to explain what she went through. This book offers transforming power to children and parents—those afflicted with TBI and those trying to prevent it." -- Dr. Frank Balch Wood, professor emeritus of neurology-neuropsychology at Wake Forest School of Medicine and ordained Baptist minister "Amanda's Fall is a delightful, much needed children’s book on Traumatic Brain Injury. Through the eyes of a child, it raises awareness, has tips for coping and offers support for those affected." -- Christina Condon NP, Neurology "Amanda's Fall is a lovely book that uses rhyme and colorful illustrations to engage young readers. Kelly Bouldin Darmofal's warm writing style makes it easy to understand the issues surrounding this potentially serious medical condition." Laurie Zelinger, PhD, RPT-S, board certified psychologist and author of Please Explain Time Out to Me "This is a cute and creative story to help young children understand their world after a traumatic brain injury. It teaches them that they are not alone in their experiences. The tips for parents are a valuable resource as well. -- Mary Jane Morgan, Lower School Principal, Calvary Day School "Darmofal has an ease in the way she writes about TBI. In this sweet story, she makes a difficult situation approachable and something to discuss. This is a wonderful story to share and educate children about TBI." -- Susie van der Vorst, co-Founder and Director, Camp Spring Creek Learn more at www.ImLostInMyMind.com From Loving Healing Press www.LHPress.com

In the past decade, few subjects at the intersection of medicine and sports have generated as much public interest as sports-related concussions - especially among youth. Despite growing awareness of sports-related concussions and campaigns to educate athletes, coaches, physicians, and parents of young athletes about concussion recognition and management, confusion and controversy persist in many areas. Currently, diagnosis is based primarily on the symptoms reported by the individual rather than on objective diagnostic markers, and there is little empirical evidence for the optimal degree and duration of physical rest needed to promote recovery or the best timing and approach for returning to full physical activity. Sports-Related Concussions in Youth: Improving the Science, Changing the Culture reviews the science of sports-related concussions in youth from elementary school through young adulthood, as well as in military personnel and their dependents. This report recommends actions that can be taken by a range of audiences - including research funding agencies, legislatures, state and school superintendents and athletic directors, military organizations, and equipment manufacturers, as well as youth who participate in sports and their parents - to improve what is known about concussions and to reduce their occurrence. Sports-Related Concussions in Youth finds that while some studies provide useful information, much remains unknown about the extent of concussions in youth; how to diagnose, manage, and prevent concussions; and the short- and long-term consequences of concussions as well as repetitive head impacts that do not result in concussion symptoms. The culture of sports negatively influences athletes' self-reporting of concussion symptoms and their adherence to return-to-play guidance. Athletes, their teammates, and, in some cases, coaches and parents may not fully appreciate the health threats posed by concussions. Similarly, military recruits are immersed in a culture that includes devotion to duty and service before self, and the critical nature of concussions may often go unheeded. According to Sports-Related Concussions in Youth, if the youth sports community can adopt the belief that concussions are serious injuries and emphasize care for players with concussions until they are fully recovered, then the culture in which these athletes perform and compete will become much safer. Improving understanding of the extent, causes, effects, and prevention of sports-related concussions is vitally important for the health and well-being of youth athletes. The findings and recommendations in this report set a direction for research to reach this goal.

This resource and planning guide provides a framework for practitioners to create an effective educational program for students with traumatic brain injuries. Chapters 1 and 2 provide an overview of brain injuries including information on brain physiology, types of brain injuries, and differences by age. Chapter 3 discusses returning to school, home, and the community after a brain injury. Chapter 4 provides information on screening, referrals, and determination for special education. It also includes information on developing an individualized education program (IEP). Chapter 5 discusses the assessment of educational needs, including assessment goals, planning the assessment, choosing assessment methods, interpreting results, and re-evaluation. Chapter 6 describes components that should be addressed in individualizing an education program, including physical abilities, cognitive abilities, academic activities, and nonacademic activities. Chapter 7 discusses behavior management from understanding underlying factors to designing behavioral interventions and implementing behavior management strategies. Chapter 8 presents material on providing physical, occupational, and speech and language therapy. Chapter 9 discusses empowering the family and relationships with siblings and peers. Chapter 10 focuses on preventing injuries and identifying remedies. Chapter 11 includes appendices on federal legislation definitions, measures of consciousness, and a tip sheet on parental preparation for IEP Meetings. An extensive resource list of materials and organizations is provided. (Individual chapters contain references.) (CR)

Pediatric Traumatic Brain Injury: Proactive Intervention, Third Edition presents a unique philosophy for assessing and treating children and adolescents with traumatic brain injury. The text is written for the many service providers and families who support children or adolescents with TBI. The road to recovery after an injury or illness can be challenging and complicated. The authors' proactive approach encourages strong collaborative partnerships that encourage family, healthcare, and education providers to join forces in order to acquire the insights, knowledge, and tools needed to identify problems and implement personalized solutions. Readers will gain valuable resources and information about extending services beyond the walls of hospital and school settings. The authors stress the importance of focusing on cognitive-communication skills and supporting reintegration and functional success in home, school, community and work situations. The authors build readers' understanding of the causes, characteristics, and impact of pediatric TBI. Functional assessment and treatment approaches are recommended to facilitate positive reintegration experiences. The text illustrates the challenges students face when confronted with demands and expectations in social and academic situations. Educators and healthcare providers will recognize the value of interprofessional collaboration and be motivated to employ problem solving approaches. Key Features Provides practical resources, forms, and handouts that can be personalized and shared with families and colleaguesPresents a framework for developing Individualized Transition and Individual Family Service PlansRecommends topics for professional developmentIncludes information on returning to learning following concussion