Though not always visible and sometimes seemingly minor, brain injury is complex. It can cause physical, cognitive, social, and vocational changes that affect an individual for a short period of time or permanently. Depending on the extent and location of the injury, symptoms caused by brain injury vary widely. Some common results are seizures, loss of balance or coordination, difficulty with speech, limited concentration, memory loss, and loss of organizational and reasoning skills.
Some Considerations
Students with brain injuries might perform well on brief, structured tasks but have significant deficits in learning, memory, and executive functions. Recovery from a brain injury can be inconsistent.
Common accommodations for students with brain injuries are exam modifications, time extensions, taped lectures, instructions presented in more than one way, alternative ways of completing assignments, early syllabus, note-takers, course substitutions, priority registration, study skills and strategies training, and alternative print formats.