Would like to thank the organisers and helpers at the recent dance. It was as great success. Thank you also to the Servicemen’s Club, Jeremy’s Supermarket, Bubbles and Bows ad the parents who supported the Pre-school by attending.
Brain injury awareness
Brain injury can result from trauma caused by motor vehicle accidents, farm accidents, falls and assaults or from ‘non-traumatic’ causes such as stroke, tumours, infection, substance abuse, or cerebral anaxia (restriction of oxygen supply to the brain). People who have had a brain injury may be left with a range of disabilities including:
Cognitive Disability can mean that the person who has sustained a brain injury may have a limited attention span and ability to concentrate, may be slow to process information, experiences fatigue very easily and often, has short-term memory problems. They may have difficulty problem solving and planning/organising and have rigid or concrete thinking.
Sensory Disability as a result of a brain injury could include any of the five senses, resulting in reduced ability or complete inability to see, hear, smell, taste or feel things. People with a brain injury also often experience a disruption to their body’s temperature control, and so may experience inappropriate or extreme temperatures.
Communication Disability can involve changes in thinking that affect how the individual expresses their ideas, difficulty with reading, writing finding the right words or grammar, understanding what is said, problems with the production of speech.
People who have had a brain injury can experience a wide range of physical disabilities as well as personality and behavioural changes including disinhibition, reduced self-control and reduced social skills.
Each year in NSW, approximately 45,000 people will sustain a brain injury. More than 7800 of these will be from traumatic causes such as farm and motor vehicle accidents. 37,200 people will sustain non-traumatic brain injury from causes such as stroke, which will effect in excess of 14,000 people and drug/alcohol abuse.
There are approximately 114,700 people who have had a brain injury living in NSW. 54,348 of these people are severely affected by acquired brain injury and need some form of personal assistance or supervision with everyday living. For these individuals there are 15 specialists brain injury community services with a combined capacity of only 370 people. Across the whole state (including outback NSW) there are only 13 Brain Injury Rehabilitation units providing acute care and outreach services, two os these are for children only.
Most people who have had a brain injury in NSW are left without adequate support.
Like to know more?
If you would like to know more about any aspect of brain injury, please contact the Brain Injury Association and we will be happy to help you with the information you seek. Community Health Braidwood Multi-Purpose Service phone 4842-2566.
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