TBI Tips for Parents and Teachers

Tips for Parents:

Adapted from National Dissemination Center for Children with Disabilities (NICHCY, 2006).

• Learn about TBI. The more you know, the more you can help yourself and your child.
• Work with the medical team to understand your child’s injury and treatment plan. Don’t be shy about asking questions. Tell them what you know or think. Make suggestions.
• Keep track of your child’s treatment. A three-ring binder or a file folder can help you store this history. As your child recovers, you may meet with many doctors, nurses, and other professionals. Write down what they say. Put any paperwork they give you in the notebook or place it in the file. If you need to share any of this paperwork with someone else, make copies. Don’t give away your original.
• If your child was in school before the injury, plan for his or her return to school. Get in touch with the school. Ask the principal about special education services. Have the medical team share information with the school.
• When your child returns to school, ask the school to test your child as soon as possible to identify his or her special education needs. Meet with the school and help develop a plan for your child, called an Individualized Education Program (IEP).
• Keep in touch with your child’s educational team (teacher, related professionals, principal, etc.). Tell the teacher how your child is doing at home. Ask how your child is doing in school.
• Check out this online tutorial on advocating for educational services for your child with TBI: http://free.braininjurypartners.com/
  

Tips for Teachers:

• Find out as much as you can about the child’s injury and his or her present needs. Find out more about TBI.
• Give the student more time to finish schoolwork and tests.
• Give directions one step at a time. For tasks with many steps, it may help to give the student written directions.
• Show the student how to perform new tasks. Give examples to go with new ideas and concepts.
• Establish consistent routines. This helps the student know what to expect. If the routine is going to change, let the student know ahead of time.
• When introducing a new skill, check to make sure that the student has actually learned it. Give the student lots of opportunities to practice the new skill.
• If appropriate, show the student how to use an assignment book and a daily schedule. This may help the student get organized.
• Realize that the student may get tired quickly. Let the student rest as needed.
• Reduce distractions in the classroom.
• Keep in touch with the student’s parents. Share information about how the student is doing at home and at school.
• Be flexible about expectations. Be patient. Maximize the student’s chances for success.

Brain Injury Partners: Navigating the School System

This new website offers resources for parents to help them advocate for educational service for their child by the project Brain Injury Partners: Advocacy Skills for Parents project developed by the Oregon Center for Applied Science, Inc.. The site includes a free tutorial for parents on how to advocate for their child's educational services. The tutorial includes: a guide for setting goals and tracking progress, a way for parents to identify their communication and negotiation styles and the opportunity for parents to assess their knowledge by watching other parents put these skills in practices.

[ http://free.braininjurypartners.com/ ]