RT Journal Article
SR Electronic
T1 Back to the future: rehabilitation of children after brain injury
JF Archives of Disease in Childhood
JO Arch Dis Child
FD BMJ Publishing Group Ltd and Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health
SP 554
OP 559
DO 10.1136/adc.2009.161083
VO 95
IS 7
A1 Rob J Forsyth
YR 2010
UL http://adc.bmj.com/content/95/7/554.abstract
AB A mistaken optimism persists that outcomes for childhood acquired brain injury (ABI) are in general superior to those for similar injuries in adults, a misconception based on naive concepts of greater ‘plasticity’ in the immature brain. The challenges of rehabilitation after ABI, of bringing children ‘back’ to face the ‘future’ of completing childhood development with an injured brain, are reviewed in the context of the science of brain recovery from injury. Unrealistic expectations of recovery may cause subsequent events to be perceived as academic or employment ‘failure’. The challenges of supporting children and families after ABI are reviewed.