Caregiver Tips The experiences of the brain injured, families & workers have taught us a lot over the past several decades. In this section, we wish to share with you some of what we have learned. There is indeed life after TBI! It is different, sometimes radically different, than life before the "Trauma" & most of us still draw a dividing line at that point our lives--“the before…and the after“. What's important to grasp is that trauma doesn't stop GROWTH. It does not stop JOY. It does not stop LAUGHTER. Many of us have come to realize that there is no area of life in which we cannot be stopped from valuing or has value. For some of us, the "Trauma" is seen in retrospect as a crucial turning point that led us to lives more fulfilling, more giving & more utilizing of our talents than we could ever have dreamed of before the trauma. We strive to share the kinds of things that people all over the world are sharing through support groups, families & get-togethers. The flip side of JOY, GROWTH and LAUGHTER could be described as Depression, Agony/Tears & Frustration…life has brought us big quantities of ALL of these things…the good, the bad, & the ugly. Thankfully the goal of the Support Group is to help each other through the ADJUSTMENT OF DISABILITY. Brain injury can be a catastrophic event that dramatically changes a person & their family. A host of emotional changes may result. Over time, people often find that they adjust to the changes created by the brain injury. Adjustment doesn't mean that people are happy about changes, rather, it means that they recognize they have changed in certain ways & rather than struggle toward the impossible--obtain what they can no longer obtain--begin to set goals & decisions based on the new self. The family must develop a new vision of who the person is & the person who has the brain injury must develop a new sense of self. This is a gradual evolutionary process which can be different for each individual & family. A good support group (different from a therapy group) for the brain injured family/person can make the new learning & development process easier. A necessary process. The person with a brain injury must learn what brain injury is, identify the changes the injury has caused & adjusting to the new limitations resulting from the brain injury can be a challenging & difficult. Family members often experience a process & have the challenges of changing their vision of the person with a brain injury. At the same time the family is redefined & roles change .

Various types of brain injury individuals & family intervention have been identified through observations of family, doctors, & friends. This may be helpful at different stages of recovery: Information, education, support, problem-solving, restructuring & formal therapy.

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