Acquired brain injury or head injury are terms used to describe all types of brain injury that occurred after birth. Acquired brain injuries affect each person differently. The impairments people experience will depend on which part of the brain has been affected and the amount of damage sustained. Impairments can be physical, cognitive or both and may be temporary or permanent in nature.
Types of brain injury, other than traumatic brain injury, include:
- alcohol or drug related acquired brain injury
- anoxic or hypoxic brain injury
- stroke.
Alcohol or drug related acquired brain injury
Alcohol or drug related acquired brain injuries occur when use of these substances has led to brain damage as a result of dehydration and shrinkage of brain cells.
Anoxic or hypoxic brain injury
Anoxic or hypoxic brain injury refers to the total lack of oxygen (anoxia) or diminished lack of oxygen (hypoxia) to the brain. Oxygen is vital for brain functioning, as it is used to metabolise glucose, which provides energy to brain cells, keeping them alive. Therefore, the lack of oxygen can damage brain cells and can lead to problems with cognition or how we think, emotions and movement.
Generally, brain injury sets in after a lack of oxygen to the brain for approximately 3-4 minutes and as with traumatic brain injury, anoxic or hypoxic brain injury may occur along a spectrum from mild to severe.
Stroke
Stroke refers to a lack of blood supply to part of the brain. Nutrients and oxygen are provided to brain cells via arteries and if these become blocked, bleed or break then the brain tissue deteriorates. There are several types of strokes with the effects varying considerably depending on the extent of blood supply shortage and part of the brain affected. For more information on strokes, visit:
Symptoms and characteristics:
Symptoms of acquired brain injuries vary considerably depending on which area of the brain the damage has occurred as well as the severity of the damage, however the more common effects relevant to the workplace include:
- difficulty learning new things
- difficulty understanding things
- lack of motivation
- change in organisational capacity
- memory or concentration problems
- more easily fatigued
- poor social skills
- prone to stress
- trouble solving problems and lack of insight
- weakness or paralysis of muscles
- coordination problems.
Workplace adjustments and modifications:
In the workplace there are various factors that would assist people with acquired brain injuries to better manage their symptoms. These include changes to work tasks and the environment, such as:
- organising the work day with set structure and routine
- if possible enable work duties to be done in one area to assist with familiarisation and learning
- use prompts to trigger memory and recall such as alarms, computer alerts, visual prompts, cue cards, task breakdown lists or simply a buddy system
- education for co-workers about the condition, and any information about a person such as how they best communicate, interact or mobilise
- specify appropriate workplace behaviour such as the use of swearing or aggressiveness and how this will be handled
- if person experience difficulty with poor judgement, safety within the workplace needs to be addressed especially if exposed to hazardous substances or other circumstances or products with potential risk of injury
- presentation of training materials in varying formats including hands on practical training, audio visual training such as DVD’s and written handouts, pamphlets or checklists that can be referred back to
- consider the use of lifting or mechanical aids such as trolleys to minimise manual handling requirements, along with the use of specialised seating if balance or posture capacity is affected.
The Employment Assistance Fund provides financial assistance for work-related modifications, equipment and services to help people with disability to get employment and perform their work as independently and productively as possible. To determine eligibility, please refer to the full guidelines:
Further information is available on other workplace solutions and adjustments which can assist those with acquired brain injuries:
(Brain Injury Association of Queensland 2007; MayoClinic 2006; MeritCare 2007; Wodonga TAFE and Aware Industries 2006)
References:
Brain Injury Association of Queensland 2007, Fact sheets, Brain Injury Association of Queensland, Brisbane, http://braininjury.org.au/portal/services/fact-sheets-index.html
MayoClinic 2006, Stroke, Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research, US, viewed 22 February 2007, http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/stroke/DS00150/DSECTION=4
MeritCare 2007, Types of ABI, MeritCare Health System, Fargo, viewed 16
February 2007, http://www.meritcare.com/specialties/rehab/brain/abi/
Wodonga TAFE and Aware Industries 2006, Work Talk – Effective Workplace Communication with Employees with Acquired Brian Injury, Australian Government Department of Families, Community Services and Indigenous Affairs, Sydney.