Your child has suffered a brain injury. It’s considered mild and recovery has been going well, but you want to know what potential issues may come up in the future.
According to a research group working out of the Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center, future problems could include attention-based issues.
Their study suggested that a patient with a brain injury that was either mild or moderate would be twice as likely to suffer from attention problems. If the injuries were severe, that number jumped, as those individuals were five times as likely to have the same issues.
For the purpose of the study, “attention issues” mean attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, or ADHD. It is absolutely possible for children to suffer from this ailment even if they’ve never been injured, but the link to brain injuries suggests that kids who previously had no problems could develop them going forward.
The group did find a tie between ADHD and family environments. Kids who had severe traumatic brain injuries — not necessarily an issue in your case, if your child has a mild brain injury, such as a concussion — might show fewer effects if they were in optimal environments. However, kids in chaotic and disadvantages homes often had long-lasting issues, even with mild brain injuries, something that could absolutely play a role in your child’s development.
It’s important to know about all of the possible health ramifications stemming from a brain injury. These could lead to lasting care and medication needs. Keep that in mind if you’re considering a civil case to seek compensation.
Source: cincinnati.com, “Cincinnati Children’s researchers present data on brain injury,” Anne Saker, Feb. 23, 2017