Jodi House - What is brain injury?

"I awoke nine years ago from a burst brain aneurysm near death. I am among the 50% who survive. I am still in a wheelchair due to erratic muscle control caused by my stroke. I am fortunate to be able to visit Jodi House for head-injured people several times a week.

Some of us are recovering from auto accidents, some from falls, from strokes, from many unexpected things which could happen to anybody at any time..."
- Jill Winslow

What is Acquired Brain Injury?

A brain injury can be acquired through a multitude of causes, such as trauma, tumor, aneurysm, infection, and lack of oxygen. The severity of brain damage can vary significantly, but each case usually involves a cluster of the following problems in varying degrees:

impaired ability to remember from day to day or even from hour to hour;
difficulty paying attention and focusing;
slow thought process and lack of clarity of thought;
impaired learning or relearning;
difficulty being socially appropriate;
unrealistic problem solving;
and many physical impairments.

Problems resulting from a brain injury can leave a person unemployed, disengaged, isolated, and dependent. These problems can persist over a lifetime.

Symptoms of Brain Injury

Frontal Lobe: Forehead

· Loss of simple movement of various body parts (Paralysis).
· Inability to plan a sequence of complex movements needed to complete multi-stepped tasks, such as making coffee (Sequencing).
· Loss of spontaneity in interacting with others.
· Loss of flexibility in thinking.
· Persistence of a single thought (Perseveration).
· Inability to focus on task (Attending).
· Mood changes (Emotionally Labile).
· Changes in social behavior.
· Changes in personality.
· Difficulty with problem solving.
· Inability to express language (Broca's Aphasia).

Parietal Lobe: near the back and top of the head

· Inability to attend to more than one object at a time.
· Inability to name an object (Anomia).
· Inability to locate the words for writing (Agraphia).
· Problems with reading (Alexia).
· Difficulty with drawing objects.
· Difficulty in distinguishing left from right.
· Difficulty with doing mathematics (Dyscalculia).
· Lack of awareness of certain body parts and/or surrounding space (Apraxia) that leads to difficulties in self-care.
· Inability to focus visual attention.
· Difficulties with eye and hand coordination.

Occipital Lobes: most posterior, at the back of the head

· Defects in vision (Visual Field Cuts).
· Difficulty with locating objects in environment.
· Difficulty with identifying colors (Color Agnosia).
· Production of hallucinations.
· Visual illusions - inaccurately seeing objects.
· Word blindness - inability to recognize words.
· Difficulty in recognizing drawn objects.
· Inability to recognize the movement of object (Movement Agnosia).
· Difficulties with reading and writing.

Temporal Lobes: side of head above ears

· Difficulty in recognizing faces (Prosopagnosia).
· Difficulty in understanding spoken words (Wernicke's Aphasia).
· Disturbance with selective attention to what we see and hear.
· Difficulty with identification of, and verbalization about objects.
· Short term memory loss.
· Interference with long term memory.
· Increased and decreased interest in sexual behavior.
· Inability to categorize objects (Categorization).
· Right lobe damage can cause persistent talking.
· Increased aggressive behavior.

Brain Stem: deep within the brain

· Decreased vital capacity in breathing, important for speech.
· Swallowing food and water (Dysphagia).
· Difficulty with organization/perception of the environment.
· Problems with balance and movement.
· Dizziness and nausea (Vertigo).
· Sleeping difficulties (Insomnia, sleep apnea).

Cerebellum: base of the skull

· Loss of ability to coordinate fine movements.
· Loss of ability to walk.
· Inability to reach out and grab objects.
· Tremors.
· Dizziness (Vertigo).
· Slurred Speech (Scanning Speech).
· Inability to make rapid movements.

This information sheet is provided to Jodi House members and family members for educational purposes only. People affected with a brain injury may or may not present some of the described possible symptoms. Only your doctor can accurately diagnose a brain injury.