What's acquired brain injury?

Heard the term acquired brain injury or ABI but don’t quite know what it means? If so, read on…

According to NHS England, around 40,000 children sustain an acquired brain injury (ABI) every year as a result of an accident or illness.

Just as each child is unique, so is the way they respond to a brain injury. There are two main types:

• traumatic, caused by a blow to the head such as a road traffic accident or fall
• non-traumatic, caused by illness such as meningitis, a brain tumour or stroke.

But there’s an enormous range of difficulties a child might face – from issues with memory, or speech to serious, long-term, physical and learning disabilities.

Some children on the outside may appear to have made a full physical recovery but they can have considerable challenges with their cognitive, communication, emotional and behavioural skills. Some of the effects may not be noticeable until years after the injury as the brain continues to develop into early adulthood. It’s because the changes and difficulties surrounding ABI are hard to spot that it’s sometimes called the hidden disability.

But there are opportunities for children to get back some of the skills they've lost, through different therapies and support, and that’s where we come in. As the UK’s leading charity for children with brain injury, The Children’s Trust works with hundreds of children and young people every year through our residential and community-based services.

We also run the Brain Injury Hub, an online resource for families to learn more about brain injury and share their experiences.

Curious to know more? Visit our website, or email us at enquiries@thechildrenstrust.org.uk