Several colleagues, office staff, family members, and others asked what motivated me to start a blog. Perhaps the best response is that after 30 years of practice, having seen thousands of patients with some form of acquired brain injury and / or behavioral / emotional, developmental or learning disorders in multiple settings, I have realized I have spent relatively little time with each patient and their family. The information that I have been able to convey has been valuable but limited, given time constraints. This blog provides an opportunity to share, in more detail, that knowledge of brain injury, learning disorders, development and behavior. It will allow patients access to more detailed information than can be provided during an office visit. In particular, to those patients with limited access to resources (e.g., no insurance, limited finances distance from providers). To that end, I have identified five goals for the blog.

1. Facilitate identifying the needs of neurologically impaired patients, in particular, children’s needs MUCH earlier in the child’s development.
2. Facilitate access to resources to patients and their families, including educational/treatment support. Promote health care education.
3. Facilitate interaction between patients / families and professionals.
4. Empower the patients to “Move beyond the diagnosis and understand the logic”!
5. Promote increased awareness of treatment interventions and accommodations.

Frequently I have seen families struggling to understand the logic of their loved ones behavior. For me, perhaps the greatest motivation for writing a blog is helping patients to “move beyond the diagnosis and understand the logic”, using that process to identify resources. It is that logic that should drive general treatment goals but it is also productive in accessing educational and other support resources. The expectation is that if they obtain a diagnosis, the schools and health care professionals will know what to do for their loved one. Diagnoses are often of benefit in qualifying for services but are far too generic to really guide treatment.

While each patient may have some characteristics of other patients, each is truly unique. I also became aware that relatively little interaction was occurring between healthcare providers, families, school professionals, employers and other resources, each “doing their own thing.” Providing information to health care providers and resources, collaborating in meeting the needs of patients is a critical and worthwhile goal. While “it takes a village to raise a child”, for a patient / child with history of acquired brain injury, “it takes a medium size city to raise a child.” Frequently there are resources available to patients, but information not reaching the patient and their families. Opportunities missed!

A key progression for patients and their families is to (1) recognize AND (2) accept emotional/behavior/neuro-developmental problems that exist. Acceptance is a big part of the process. Aggressive efforts identifying successful treatment / accommodations are critical. Parents avoid medications as an intervention but they are important considerations in treatment of patients with brain injury. Welcome to our Blog! Your interaction and feedback are welcome.