Traumatic brain injury occurs when the head is hit, or hits, a blunt object causing the brain to smash into the hard bony surface of the skull. Often, this occurs when the head hits the windshield in an auto accident.
        About 2 million people a year sustain head injuries. Most will heal over time with the proper attention. More than a half-million head injuries are severe enough to require hospitalization, and may result in permanent disability. Even those with a diagnosis of “mild” traumatic brain injury may find the effects of their injury anything but mild.

Some of the disabling effects of head injury include:
• Memory problems including short-term memory
loss, problem solving abilities and the inability to
understand abstract concepts
• Motor Deficits such as paralysis, poor balance and
poor coordination
• Speech deficits and poor breathing problems
• Language difficulty (i.e. difficulty expressing thoughts
and understanding others)
• Loss of bowel and bladder control
• Personality changes, including irritability, depression, aggression, etc.

Epilepsy occurs in 2 to 5% of all people who sustain head injury.

       The extent of a person’s problems after sustaining a head injury depends on many factors. It may take many months — or sometimes years — for the extent of the person’s enduring problems from the head injury to be known.