Why is helping brain injury survivors a challenge?
Advocating for brain injury survivors and providing early mentoring and support is vital for healing and recovery. Why? When the brain is injured, you generally don’t know what you need, and you rely on others for help and support. Also, those challenging brain injury symptoms are not necessarily obvious or visible to others, so the struggle is often hidden and the fight to overcome is usually concealed. That’s why brain injury survivors need help fast in order to make recovery job one, but they cannot do it alone.
First and foremost, brain injury survivors need help dealing with those significant symptoms, which are often overwhelming and debilitating. Brain injury survivors also need to be in a safe environment with positive reinforcement. They need help maintaining hydration and proper nutrition while their brain is in repair. They need help to stay socially engaged while the brain establishes new pathways. They need to stay involved, through adaptive indoor and outdoor activities and brain relearning tools. They need mentoring on how to reconcile old knowledge with new. They need help with occupational therapy and re-integrating into society. They need our understanding and encouragement when they are not feeling or acting themselves, or when they are forced to turn nocturnal to avoid sunlight, vision, and sensory issues. They need our help through creative therapy, like art and music, in order to engage new brain functions. Most importantly, they need our unconditional love, understanding, and support as their lives and livelihood can be out of their control.
Reaching the diverse population of brain injury survivors is another added challenge. How to penetrate through socioeconomics, across barriers, and reach the underserved? Making a difference in the lives of those who are challenged in their brains is a daunting task that requires working together, with all hands on deck, and technology can help. I have worked in the technology field most of my career, and I can say with confidence that free self-help webspace, social media, virtual reality, and artificial intelligence can bridge those gaps. Yes, today’s technology can be an effective tool to help reach anyone who needs help. But that will require the utilization of networking and resources to make it possible. Please join in and help.