How Traumatic Brain Injury Affects Children and Adolescents

Traumatic brain injury, or TBI, is the leading cause of death and disability among children and teens in the United States. More than 145,000 young Americans are hospitalized each year due to events such as falls or impact injuries, and more than 30,000 suffer permanent disabilities. Whether mild or severe, traumatic brain injuries can have both short and long term effects on a child’s cognitive, emotional and physical development.

What Is a Traumatic Brain Injury?

In both children and adults, TBI can be caused by falls, blows to the head, bumping the head against a hard surface, and even gunshot wounds. Sports injuries account for a large number of TBI events, not only in heavy contact sports such as football, but also from things like falling off a bicycle, taking a “header” in soccer, or getting hit in the face or head with a baseball.

Physical violence such as a blow to the head can also lead to a traumatic head injury, and many infants suffer TBI from abusive behaviors such as violent shaking or jerking. Vehicle accidents also cause a significant number of traumatic brain injuries, and so can explosive blasts – a frequent cause of TBI for soldiers in combat. Under the right circumstances, even a relatively minor bump to the head can cause trauma that creates swelling and bleeding in the brain.

In people of all ages, Brain trauma can cause bruising or bleeding in the brain, or tearing of tissues and nerve fibers. If the injury causes the skull to fracture, skull fragments might also damage brain tissue. Blood clots can also form at the site of an injury, and swelling in the brain can put pressure on tissues and nerves. Over time, inflammation at the injury site can damage neural connections, sometimes permanently.

Symptoms of Traumatic Brain Injury

For both adults and children, the effects of a traumatic brain injury can vary, depending on the nature and location of the injured part of the brain. Some symptoms appear right after the injury, but others can appear days, or even weeks later, and may not seem related to the original injury.

Mild TBI events may cause someone to lose consciousness briefly, or not at all. Symptoms include headache, nausea, drowsiness, and problems with coordination and balance. Mild injuries can also cause mood changes and trouble concentrating. Mild TBI events can be treated at home after a visit to a doctor or emergency room, and many minor head injuries are never reported to medical professionals.

More severe TBI events have serious consequences. The injured person can lose consciousness for several minutes, or much longer, with symptoms such as confusion, dilation of the pupils, and loss of coordination. More serious symptoms include seizures and drainage of cerebrospinal fluid from the nose. Severe bleeding in the brain and other damage to neural networks can cause coma and even death.

TBI in Children Raises Special Concerns

Because the brains of children and teens are still developing, brain injuries in those under 19raise special concerns. Infants and children up to the age of four have a higher incidence of TBI than any other age group in the US. Because these children are too young to describe their symptoms, differences in behaviors and mood can help to signal a brain injury. These can include changes in eating or nursing routines or sleep habits, persistent crying, sadness or difficulty paying attention.

Children with TBI typically need extra resources and support for success in school and other areas of their lives. Because most traumatic brain injuries affect cognitive functions like memory, information processing and attention, children and teens with TBI are likely to need extra accommodations in the classroom. It may take longer for students with TBI to understand lessons and complete assignments. They may need note-taking help, outside tutoring, or extra accommodations for tests.

TBI can also cause physical problems, such as deficits in fine motor control, balance, and coordination. Children with these symptoms might also need physical therapy and extra accommodation for sports and other activities. And since TBI can also affect parts of the brain associated with emotions and mood, therapy can also help injured children to cope with episodes of inappropriate anger, sadness and fear.

A child’s TBI also impacts the family as a whole. From arranging special accommodations at home for a child with mobility or sensory problems to working closely with teachers and tutors to make sure an injured child is getting needed academic support, managing the symptoms of a child’s brain injury affects a family’s resources, priorities, and relationships. Siblings may need help to understand the situation and adapt to the changes in their brother or sister. And if deficits persist or become permanent, families need to plan for the injured child’s future.

Traumatic brain injuries affect children and teens more than any other age group, and the effects of these injuries can impact all aspects of a child’s life. If you believe your child has been injured, Bennett Injury Law has the answers you need right now.

Charles Bennett

Charles Bennett is a Plaintiff’s trial attorney and trial consultant based in Dallas, Texas. His law firm, Bennett Injury Law, is a personal injury plaintiff’s law firm that specializes in 18-Wheeler and Commercial crashes, Wrongful Death, Traumatic Brain Damage, Motor Vehicle Crashes, and Workplace Injuries. Cases Charles has consulted on in 2019 have won over $35M in verdicts.