Acquired Brain Injury Ireland marks 21 years of service for brain injury survivors and their families across Ireland, writes Jason Osborne
Acquired Brain Injury Ireland (ABII) recently celebrated its 21st birthday, the organisation being set up in 2000 to meet a need to provide “life-changing, specialised neuro-rehabilitation” for people in Ireland whose lives have been changed forever by brain injury. This includes people whose brains have been damaged as a result of a wide-range of events, such as falls, road traffic accidents, concussions and strokes.
The leading provider of community-based rehabilitation services for people in Ireland living with an acquired brain injury, ABII was established in 2000 as the Peter Bradley Foundation. CEO and co-founder of the organisation Barbara O’Connell spearheaded the development after her brother, Peter Bradley, suffered two brain injuries as a result of two serious traffic accidents before the age of 42.
As a result of this, Peter was no longer able to live independently and having no access to appropriate rehabilitation services, he was transferred from acute care to a nursing home.
Commenting on the 21st anniversary of the founding of the organisation, Ms O’Connell said:
“Too often people who acquire brain injuries are young and left [in] inappropriate settings such as nursing homes, acute hospitals or at home where families are unable to cope.
“The findings of the Ombudsman’s ‘Wasted Lives’ report have been at the core of our purpose from the very beginning: to prevent individuals with brain injury going into the nursing home system, to take those misplaced there out, and to give them the specialist response they need to rebuild their lives. We still have a long way to go.”
Peter’s ordeal was what drove Ms O’Connell to set up the foundation, which saw the opening of the first ABII house in Dublin. It was a place her brother and other brain injury survivors could be supported to live life with as much independence as could be managed.
Since then, ABII has gone on to become Ireland’s leading provider of “clinically-led community rehabilitation” for people with brain injury aged between 18 and 65. They now operate 16 rehabilitation residences, as well as providing in-home community, day and vocational rehabilitation programmes alongside family supports in every province in Ireland.
We might be inclined to think that brain injury isn’t as prevalent as it is because of the severity of it, but that would be a mistake. According to ABII, there are 19,000 new brain injuries acquired in Ireland every year – which works out as around 52 people every day.
What is an acquired brain injury?
An acquired brain injury (ABI) is an injury to the brain that has occurred after birth. Such injuries often result in life-long challenges, including changes to behaviour, emotions and physical functioning.
So every brain injury is unique to each individual affected”
ABIs may be traumatic, but not necessarily. Traumatic instances may be precipitated by a blow or a jolt to the brain, and they’re usually serious. These often occur as a result of falls, road traffic accidents and assaults. As mentioned however, you can also experience a non-traumatic ABI. These are a result of something occurring within the body, such as a stroke, brain haemorrhage or a viral infection.
The ABII website notes that just as every brain is different, “so every brain injury is unique to each individual affected”.
The Main causes of brain injury include:
– Stroke (39%)
– Road traffic accidents (14%)
– Falls (14%)
– Tumour (7%)
– Assault (5%)
Impacts of brain injury
There are a number of ways in which a brain injury encroaches on a person’s life, some more obvious than others. The ABII website’s ‘Understanding brain injury’ section tells us that it does so in a few key areas.
- Physically, those who’ve suffered a brain injury may find themselves weaker or not as strong as they had been previously. This, coupled with less stamina and potentially weakened eyesight and hearing are often indicators or brain injury.
- Brain injury survivors might find it harder to track conversations, especially when there is more than one person speaking at the same time.
- Day-to-day organisation may be harder for those with brain injury, with their ability to problem-solve and plan in many different areas weaker than they once were.
- Those with a brain injury may have trouble taking in new information or recalling details of recent events. Day-to-day tasks also may elude them – even if they have no difficulty in remembering things from long ago.
- Decision making will also be affected in many cases as weighing up information and working out the best decision may be harder for brain injury survivors. They may find themselves either more rigid or impulsive, or less able to operate under pressure.
- Concentration and speech and language will be affected too, coupled with fatigue in many cases.
Rehabilitation
As mentioned, and in ABII’s own words, as every brain is different, so too every brain injury is unique to each individual affected. As a result, the recovery and rehabilitation journey is unique to each person.
The type of injury, the individual’s age, social network and outlook on life are all factors that can affect how recovery goes. The length of time symptoms remain also indicate just how severe the brain injury was.
Often the most rapid recovery occurs in the first six months after brain injury. In milder cases of ABI, many people find that their symptoms disappear or are greatly reduced within a year.
This includes the establishment of a meaningful everyday routine, getting enough rest, and gradually introducing some exercise, social activities and family responsibilities”
Regardless of age, circumstance or the nature of the brain injury, early access to neuro-rehabilitation services such as ABII can play a vital role in the rebuilding of a life. This includes the establishment of a meaningful everyday routine, getting enough rest, and gradually introducing some exercise, social activities and family responsibilities.
For more information on acquired brain injury and the services ABII Ireland provide, visit www.abiireland.ie.