This observation hits close to home:
He explained that this means that children are diagnosed with forgetfulness, memory problems, sensitivity to light and noise, ADHD and even psychological problems.
….
“After head injury it’s common for children to complain of headaches, or difficulty concentrating at school, but it’s often diagnosed simply as migraines or treated with Ritalin,” Efrati told The Times of Israel.
“They often continue to suffer for many years from various disorders, instead of getting treatment for the real problem, which is the syndrome,”
….
“It should be understood that the consequences of brain injury during childhood continue throughout life,” she said. “Loss of any brain function can prevent the child from realizing his or her potential in education and in social life.”
Me
Age 6 – fell out of tree, knocked out, was in speech therapy for about 1.5 years after
Age 11 1/2 – bicycle crash, 5″ long skull fracture, not even x-rayed until 5 days after the crash, then at home, lying in bed, vomiting, unable to talk, recognize people, for a few weeks. Never told of TBI, returned to school half days at about 6 weeks, full days at about 4-5 months.
Age 20s – two more bike crashes, broken bike helmets, broken bones, knocked out. Doctor told of knockout blow and symptoms, but no one mentioned TBI. On head injury #4, the hospital staff were on strike, and the orthopedic surgeon who treated my broken bone was massively overworked, having to do the x-rays and the arm splint/cast himself, where those were usually done by staff.
Age 40s – fall on ice, briefly knocked out. Then, a year later, hard head impact into a beam, leaving me with “slow brain, slow speech” for almost 3 weeks until it cleared up on its own.
Long list of “effects” – about a dozen and a half including one that was considered unique to TBI. Late 50s diagnosed with post TBI issues and finally put on a treatment plan. After decades of brain injuries. Good grief.
Health care professionals have largely ignored brain injuries. I suffered through most of my life dealing with TBI gremlins.
If you suffer a head injury, I recommend being seen by (competent) health care staff. Even after a mild injury, you should expect to be on “cognitive rest” for a week or more. To understand the types of symptoms that may occur in the short or long term, see the free online e-book http://tbiguide.com
Your doctor is your first line care provider. Another important care provider is a neuropsychologist that is specially trained in diagnosing brain injuries based on the patient’s behavioral patterns and history. Treatments may include brain rest, medication, neuropsychology to assist with strategies to work around TBI effects, physical therapy, occupational therapy and speech therapy.
