Objectives 0 Participants will be able to identify 4 characteristics of a healthy brain. 0 Participants will be able to state the functions of the brain. 0 Participants will be able to identify 3 types of brain injuries. 0 Participants will be able to identify 3 different teaching strategies to implement in the classroom.
The Healthy Brain 0 The skull protects the brain. 0 The brain is made up of neurons. 0 The neurons form tracts that route through the brain. 0 The nerve tracts carry messages to the various parts of the brain. 0 The messages that are carried are used to perform various functions.
Functions of the Brain 0 The brain is divided into main functional sections called lobes. 0 The lobes each have their own functions. 0 The lobes are as follows: Frontal, Temporal, Parietal, Occipital, Cerebellum and Brain Stem.
The Brain
Types of Brain Injuries 0 Hematoma (subdural) 0 Anoxic 0 Hypoxic 0 Diffuse Closed vs open head injury: Closed nothing is penetrating,or fracturing the skull, open is something went through the skull.
Hematoma
Definition of Subdural Hematoma 0 : Bleeding into the space between the dura (the brain cover) and the brain itself. This space is called the subdural space. If the hematoma puts increased pressure on the brain, neurological abnormalities including slurred speech, impaired gait, and dizziness may result and progress to coma and even death.
Anoxic Brain Injury 0 Anoxic Brain Injury and Hypoxic Injury 0 A prolonged lack of oxygen (anoxic brain injury) and a decreased flow of oxygen (hypoxic injury) can cause moderate to severe brain injuries, depending on how long a patient is without sufficient oxygen. Both conditions can accompany a traumatic brain injury and other illnesses
Hypoxic Brain Injury 0 Hypoxic brain injury is caused by a decrease in the supply of oxygen going to the brain. It differs from anoxic brain injury because anoxia means there is no oxygen going to the brain. That does not mean that a hypoxic brain injury is any less severe. Examples: carbon monoxide poisoning, near drowning, choking, and cardiac arrest.
Diffuse axonal brain injury 0 Diffuse axonal brain injury is caused by the movement of the brain within the skull, there is tearing of the brain tissue and the swelling that can occur. These movements, which are normally a back and forth type of movement, disrupt the nerve cells which allow the neurons to send messages between them. Once those cells are disrupted and the links between them broken, the signally process can not occur and functions like movement, speech, and even those that support life can cease.
Understanding the Terminology for Traumatic Brain Injury 0 Glasgow Coma Scale: (GCS) Measure of post injury responding including eye,verbal, and motor response. 0 This is a clinical tool to measure the intensity of gross neurological function. 0 Mild (13-15) 0 Moderate (9-12) 0 Severe (3-8)
Rancho Levels 0 Rancho Los Amigos Levels of Recovery from traumatic brain injury. 0 Level I: No Response Level II: Generalized Response Level III: Localized Response Level IV: Confused-agitated Level V: Confused-inappropriate Level VI: Confused-appropriate Level VII: Automatic-appropriate Level VIII: Purposeful-appropriate
Why is this info important 0 Understanding the terminology demystifies what is being written in the reports. 0 Helps to understand what part of the brain is injured. 0 By knowing what kind of brain injury and the parts of the brain involved, the teacher can develop appropriate goals and strategies.
Injuries to the Brainstem 0 The brainstem regulates major life-support functions. (breathing, thinking, moving) 0 Injury to the brainstem produces slow thinking, easy fatigue, sleep disturbances,impaired balance and coordination, and or losses of sensation and movement.
Injuries to Frontal Lobe 0 Frontal lobe injuries most often affect executive functions like, impulse control, initiation planning,organization, mental flexibility, and monitoring for errors. Injury in this area also produce susceptibility to mental overload.
Parietal Lobe Injuries 0 Injuries in this area, produce perceptual impairment, language comprehension deficits, safety issues, judgement disorder and difficulty making sense of self and others. The lobe is situated towards the back of the brain, and has three functions.
Three Jobs 0 First, processes input of sensations from the body to the brain. ( difficulty recognizing changes in their body state). 0 The parietal lobe contains the locator circuits of the brain that tells where things are found and where they are situated in respect to the body. (greater risk of losing their way). 0 The third part and most important function is its high level of processing all the brain s input data.
Parietal lobe 0 The left parietal lobe generates understanding of ideas expressed in words, including stories, articles explanations, and requests. 0 The right parietal lobe gives the big picture both in visual images and in forming ideas. Reading of emotions, and nonverbal communications may be diminished. This part of the brain takes over in emergencies. Also is involved in the early stages of learning any new skill. Depth perception, shapes and contours are also part of this lobe.
Temporal Lobe Injuries 0 Injuries here can impair the ability to interpret sounds. Sensitivity to noise. 0 Injury to the back of the temporal lobe can produce aphasia, or loss of the ability to understand speech. Injury to the right temporal hemisphere compromises the person s ability to perceive emotions. 0 Temporal lobe contains the circuitry of the system that produces memory and emotional responses.
Occipital Lobe Injuries 0 The occipital lobes are a small region at the rear of the brain where sensory input from the eyes is processed. Occipital injury produces problems in recognizing and identifying visual stimuli.
Cerebellum Injuries 0 Loss of ability to coordinate fine movements. 0 Loss of ability to walk. 0 Inability to reach out and grab objects. 0 Tremors. 0 Dizziness (Vertigo). 0 Slurred Speech (Scanning Speech). 0 Inability to make rapid movements.
Vision changes 0 Homonymous hemianopsia, also referred to as homonymous hemianopia is the loss of half of the field of view on the same side in both eyes. It occurs frequently in traumatic brain injuries, because of the manner in which the nasal nerve fibers from each eye cross as they pass to the back of the brain. The visual images that we see to the right side travel from both eyes to the left side of the brain, while the visual images we see to the left side in both eyes travel to the right side of the brain. Therefore, damage to the right side of the posterior portion of the brain can cause a loss of the left field of view in both eyes. Likewise, damage to the left posterior brain can cause a loss of the right field of vision.
Visual skills affected by Traumatic Brain Injury include: Tracking: 0 the ability of the eye to move smoothly across a printed page or while following a moving object. 0 Fixation: 0 quickly and accurately locating and inspecting a series of stationary objects, such as words while reading. 0 Focus Change: 0 looking quickly from far to near and back without blur. 0 Depth perception: 0 judging relative distances of objects - how far or near they are. 0 Peripheral vision: 0 monitoring and interpreting what is happening in the surrounding field of vision 0 Binocularity: 0 using both eyes together as a team - smoothly, equally and accurately
Visual skills Affected 0 Maintaining attention: 0 keeping focused on a particular activity while interference, such as noise, is present. 0 Visualization: 0 accurately picturing images in the "mind's eye," eye retaining and storing them for future recall. 0 Near vision acuity: 0 clearly, seeing, inspecting, identifying and understanding objects viewed within arm's length. 0 Distance acuity: 0 clearly seeing, inspecting, identifying and understanding objects viewed at a distance. 0 Vision perception: 0 understanding what is seen.
Resources 0 www.child-psych.org/2009/04/long-term-effects-oftraumatic-brain.html 0 http://www.biausa.org/brain-injury-children.htm 0 www.bianys.org/learnet 0 http://www.projectlearnet.org/what_problems_are_s een.html 0 http://cokidswithbraininjury.com/educators-andprofessionals/manual/