The opportunity to get a child back to more familiar surroundings can be a wonderful time for many families.
But this transition is rarely easy. The things that come naturally to typically developing children like learning to get organised for school, completing tasks at school and at home or simply fitting in with a peer group can present real challenges for a child or young person with a brain injury.
Our most recent online poll showed that of the parents accessing the Brain Injury Hub 76% of their children returned home following a brain injury and two thirds of them had no support.
You can get involved with our campaign by using #homeagain on twitter and facebook. We'd also love to hear your own experiences on our new forum post here.
We also have a new blog looking at some of the issues Emily and her mum Corita faced when they returned home after Emily's brain injury. You can read the blog here.
Parents and children may be used to having the support of healthcare professionals they have got to know. When they leave hospital often this support comes to an end and it can be more difficult to find support in the community.
We were very worried about the world outside this bubble we had been in for so long"Parent's experience
There are a variety of community services – such as nursing, psychology and therapy – which are provided by various organisations. These may be provided privately, through your local authority, or through a charitable organisation. It can be hard for parents to know where to start in accessing these services.
When Michael came back from the rehabilitation centre, it was like we half-expected someone to knock on the door and say: We’re here to tell you what’s available and what you’re entitled to."Michael's Mum
The parent partnership service provides support and advice to parents. They aim to provide accurate and unbiased information on the full range of options available to parents. You can find your local service here.
Communication with your child's school is crucial to ensure that they understand your child's difficulties.
Had the school not understood Liam’s problems they may have excluded him by now"Liam's Mum
Because of the hidden nature of brain injury it can sometimes be difficult for people to identify difficulties and find ways to overcome them.
We have advice which you could give to your child's teacher to help them understand more about brain injury and stratergies which could help here.
Children with an acquired brain injury may not be easy to identify in the classroom. Susie Aspinall, an occupational therapist with the Brain Injury Community Team at The Children’s Trust, offers a guide to some of the telltale signs, along with some possible interventions in this fantastic article written for special magazine.
Helping Michael to succeed (2561k)
Sometimes when you are talking to your child it may seem like they aren't listening and they are not taking in what you are saying. In our video speech and language therapist Amanda shares three stratergies which could help.
A child's behaviour can dramatically change following a brain injury and can be a challenge to manage when returning to the home environment. Our video by nurse Lisa could help.
Organisation, routine and structure are important for a child or young person who has suffered a brain injury. It is something which the whole family can help with. We have a page dedicated to strategies to help with this here.
Parents often say how hard they find balancing their time. The need to support their child with a brain injury to maximise their recovery and fight for the best care for them is immense. While at the same time they are supporting siblings who also have to adjust to having a brother or sister with a brain injury.
Casey's sister went from pillar to post, really. I think she felt very out of the way. But all we could think about at the time was Casey's health."Parent's experience
Young Siblings is a resource set up by Sibs charity. It is somewhere for siblings to find information and has an email service for them to ask the sibs team questions. It also allows siblings to chat to each other and share their feelings and experiences.
When a child suffers a brain injury it puts stress on the whole family. This can take its toll on everyone and it is important to look after yourselves so that you can give your child the best care possible.
Yvonne Newbold has written 'The Special Parents Handbook' which is full of tips and advice and includes a section on looking after yourselves. Here are just a few ideas:
It took the edge off everything ... It meant I had a bit more time to get on top of things. It might sound funny, but having a little bit of time to catch up on my reading made a big difference."Parent's experience
Your local authority and charitable organisations in your area may offer some form of short breaks/respite care.Short breaks come in many different forms. They might be a chance for the family to get away together, or they may be a break for the child by themselves.You can find out what's available in your area on the Directgov website here.
One of the things children and young people talk about is the difficulties they have integrating back into their friendship groups. They say they find it difficult to explain their brain injury and the challenges they face to others.
It can be really lonely having an ABI and friends hard to come by - not easy for a teenager."Parent's experience
We have an online guide which aims to give young people some ideas for speaking with friends and family about their brain injury. You can find it here.
In our new blog Emily gives other young people some useful information. Here are a few of her key points:
Keep communicating with your friends to help them understand what you are struggling with and why.
Plan rest time at school – find out where you can go to have a break.
If possible focus on one friend – don’t try to make lots of friends.
One of the things parents have said they found useful is being able to talk to other families who have already been through the transition home. You can join the conversation on our parent forum and share your concerns, advice and experiences with the people who really understand... other parents.
When things are going badly, or you just hit a bad day when nothing feels good and you don't think it ever will again, the other special parents are the ones who understand without you having to explain anything, and they are the ones who can pull you out of the emotional mud faster than anybody else."Yvonne, author of The Special Parent Handbook
Finally a message of hope left on our forum by a parent
Whilst having a nosey about it seems that there are a lot of people on here who have been feeling really alone and anxious about their children and their situations in dealing with brain injuries. I wanted to post a specific message to send my love to you all. Please don't feel alone and please don't give up, we're all behind you :) xx"a parent on our forum
You can read other families experiences and share your own on our parent forum here.
