Brain injuries can be devastating, both physically and emotionally. When it comes to pediatric brain injuries, the effects are particularly heartbreaking, as these children are often unable to develop and grow in their educational settings like their peers. While each brain injury is unique, there are some common long-term effects that can have a drastic impact on how a child learns. Let’s break down what those effects are and how they can impact learning.
Memory:
Children with brain injuries often have difficulty with memory retention, meaning that it takes them longer to grasp new concepts without multiple repetitions and exposure. This can lead to difficulty in the classroom as they struggle to keep up with their peers who learn faster than they do.
Attention and Concentration:
Children who have suffered from brain injuries also often have trouble concentrating and maintaining focus for extended periods of time. This makes it difficult for them to complete tasks or assignments that require sustained concentration and focus. Additionally, these children may need prompting or help from teachers or parents in order to stay on track with an assignment or task at hand.
Problem Solving Skills:
Another common long-term effect of pediatric brain injury is difficulty drawing conclusions from facts presented. This means that when presented with a problem or scenario, these children may not be able to draw meaningful conclusions from the information provided without additional guidance or assistance from someone else.
Language Skills:
Another area where some children may struggle post-injury is language skills such as figures of speech and metaphors. These types of language skills require an understanding of context and nuance that can be difficult for these children to grasp due to their injury.
Visual-Spatial Skills:
Children who have suffered a brain injury may also experience difficulties with visual-spatial skills such as becoming disoriented when navigating their whereabouts and having difficulty finding the correct classroom or looking for an item on their or that has been requested by an adult or peer. They may also experience difficulties following directions due to their impaired spatial awareness.
Behavioral and Emotional Effects:
Lastly, many children who suffer from a brain injury experience behavioral issues such as becoming easily frustrated or being easily misled by peers into making poor choices due to their lack of understanding when it comes to social cues and interactions. Additionally, these children may also become withdrawn due to feeling overwhelmed by the changes occurring around them in school environments post-injury which can further hinder their learning process if not addressed properly by educators or counselors within the school setting.
Brain injuries can have a significant impact on how a child learns, especially in an educational setting where there are expectations for students to progress quickly through course work while still retaining knowledge over extended periods of time without repetitive exposure . It is important for educators and parents alike to understand the potential long-term effects that a child's brain injury could have on behavior, language skills , visual-spatial abilities , problem solving skills , attention span , memory retention ,and emotional wellbeing so that appropriate accommodations can be made within any given learning environment . This will ensure that all students get the resources they need in order for them all thrive academically despite any physical limitations caused by traumatic brain injuries .