Brain Injury Awareness Day on Capitol Hill, 
        which will be held on Wednesday, March 16, 2011

Quick Facts About Brain Injury:
An estimated 1.7 million children and adults in the U.S. sustain a traumatic brain injury (TBI) and another 795,000 individuals sustain an acquired brain injury (ABI) from non-traumatic causes each year.

Currently more than 3.1 million children and adults in the U.S. live with a lifelong disability as a result of TBI and 6.4 million have a disability due to stroke. 

Brain injury is unpredictable in its consequences. Brain injury affects who we are, the way we think, act, and feel. It can change everything about us in a matter of seconds.  The most important things to remember: 

• A person with a brain injury is a person first 
• No two brain injuries are exactly the same 
• The effects of a brain injury are complex and vary greatly from person to person 
• The effects of a brain injury depend on such factors as cause, location, and severity.


(Statistics courtesy of the Centers for Disease Control and the Heart Disease & Stroke Statistics 2010 Update At-A-Glance.)   

Living With Brain Injury
Picture
Arietal Lobe Functions
  • Sense of touch
  • Spatial perception
  • Differentiation (identification) of size, shapes, and colors
  • Visual perception 
Occipital Lobe Functions
  • Vision
Cerebellum Lobe Functions
  • Balance
  • Skilled motor activity 
  • Coordination
  • Visual perception 
Brain Stem Functions
  • Breathing
  • Arousal and consciousness
  • Attention and concentration 
  • Heart rate
  • Sleep and wake cycles 
Frontal Lobe Functions
  • Attention and concentration
  • Self-monitoring
  • Organization
  • Speaking (expressive language)
  • Motor planning and initiation
  • Awareness of abilities and limitations
  • Personality
  • Mental flexibility
  • Inhibition of behavior
  • Emotions
  • Problem solving 
  • Planning and anticipation
  • Judgment  
Temporal Lobe Functions
  • Memory
  • Understanding language (receptive language)
  • Sequencing 
  • Hearing
  • Organization  

Everyday Health


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