If your loved one or family member experienced a traumatic brain injury (TBI), knowing how to support them may be hard—especially if their moods or personality have changed.
The University of Maryland Rehabilitation Network is a system of rehab providers across Maryland that work together to help people recover from illness or injury. This network of providers offers brain injury rehabilitation services designed to help both patients and caregivers receive the care they need close to home.
What Is TBI?
There are many ways the brain can be injured, including a tumor or stroke. But TBI specifically refers to an injury that damages brain tissue and is caused by external trauma such as a gunshot wound, a fall, an assault, or a car accident. Not all TBIs are severe, but some injuries may require months or even years of rehabilitation.
Rehabilitation After TBI
Rehabilitation after a traumatic brain injury is designed to help the brain relearn and rewire itself to compensate for the injured part of the brain.
Because the brain controls everything the body does, the person may have to relearn how to talk, eat, maintain their balance, walk or dress themselves—all the types of daily activities we may take for granted after early childhood.
Types of Brain Rehabilitation Programs
Depending on the severity of the injury and the amount of rehabilitation needed, your loved one may transfer from their hospital room to inpatient rehabilitation. In post-acute rehabilitation, patients may have up to four hours of physical, occupational and speech therapy each day, five to six days a week. Recreation therapy may be an additional service to assist with therapy goals, identify leisure resources, and address community reentry.
Patients needing less intensive care may be in sub-acute inpatient rehabilitation, which usually includes at least three hours of therapy per day, five to seven days a week. Sub-acute rehabilitation can also take place during a day program, where the patient has therapy daily or almost every day but returns home at night.
As your loved one improves, they may be discharged home or to other community living environments where rehabilitation services may continue.
For individuals who have transitioned home, several rehabilitation services are available. In-home rehabilitation is used to continue therapy for persons who are unable to safely access community environments. Outpatient rehabilitation is used to continue therapy for individuals who have access to assistance with community mobility and have access to transportation.
Your Comprehensive Rehabilitation Team
Unlike a leg injury that just needs physical therapy, TBI rehabilitation takes teamwork. Your loved one’s physicians and nurses will work with neuropsychology specialists, dietitians and experts in wound care, along with physical, occupational and speech therapists.
UM Rehabilitation Network practitioners work together to assess and prescribe comprehensive therapy goals for TBI rehabilitation, utilizing specific techniques to help reengage the brain and improve function. Computer-assisted technologies may also be used to help improve swallowing, speech, cognition, balance, strength and mobility.
Helping Someone Going Through TBI Rehabilitation
Traumatic brain injuries can be much harder for family members to process than other types of injuries. Life is likely to change, and learning to adjust to the emotional, physical and financial challenges can strain even the strongest relationships.
It’s important to stay involved during your loved one’s rehabilitation. Get to know all the members of their care team. Ask questions, and take notes or record the conversations, so you’ll remember the details later—it’s easy to forget when you’re overwhelmed with new information.
Get comfortable asking for help, whether it’s trying to find out what your insurance will cover or how to prepare at home for when inpatient rehabilitation ends. The medical staff and therapists with the UM Rehabilitation Network are here to support your family.
It’s also important for you to develop coping strategies and reserve some time for yourself. Brain Injury Support Groups can connect you with other families facing similar struggles. The groups also offer educational and peer mentorship, recreational activities, and friendship for individuals.
Other Ways to Help
- Establish a routine that is helpful for both your loved one and you.
- Keep communicating, even if speech is a struggle for your loved one. It’s important for them to stay social.
- Avoid treating your loved one like a child, but don’t avoid the real consequences of the injury. Also avoid telling them everything will be back to normal soon, especially if it will not.
- Celebrate every step forward. Don’t compare the progress to how your loved one used to be.
- Respect the person’s likes and dislikes and wishes (e.g., keep playing their favorite music around the house, even if you dislike it).
- Follow your medical and rehabilitation team’s instructions exactly as prescribed.
- Get psychological help for yourself if you need it.
- Seek out a caregiver support group, which is available through some UM Rehabilitation Network locations.
