Higher Education Tied to Better Recovery from Traumatic Brain Injury
 

Just passing this along...

(Psych Central News) One year after experiencing a severe traumatic brain injury (TBI), people with the equivalent of at least a college education are seven times more likely than high school dropouts to have completely recovered, according to new research by Johns Hopkins.* This suggests that the brain’s “cognitive reserve” may play a role in helping people heal […]

Read the full article...

From Psych Central News.
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Doc

This article is interesting. It would be even more interesting to know how many of the high school drops outs and others with limited educational experiences have a history of brain injury or other disability that limited their academic achievement.

Those with more years of education also were likely to be better able to learn and discover work-arounds and accommodations that allowed them to regain pre-injury functions.

It should be noted that the group studied suffered moderate to severe head injuries requiring hospitalization and it appears, in-patient rehab.

Wow that describes me. Masters in Business; TBI rated moderate to severe (GCS 11, skull fracture, craniotomy, 5 weeks post traumatic amnesia, hospitalized 8 weeks); full NPA showed no cognitive deficits 5 months post accident.

I reports like this can be so misleading.

What were the level of tests ? over here the standard test is based on the MMSE (a test for Alzheimer's) which is so easy to pass - I could but I can't remember a phone number after a few minutes.

The report uses the term "detectable disability" so is having a limited term memory or problems planning a disability ?

Without being demeaning to the high school drop outs, what level of capability were they before and after ? Maybe a lot of the results are down to an individuals drive and motivation, if someone isn't motivated to push themselves educationally or in career - do they have the same drive to attempt to mend themselves after an accident ? Again no stereotypes implied

The other thing could be sheer coincidence in the sample? How many remarkable people like "lightrail" are there out there ?

Again reports like these send the wrong message to family doctors, insurance firms and legal people - Ah you have a Phd therefore you should be better by now .....

I agree, Sospan. I have a PhD and I heard from so many doctors etc. that they couldn't believe I had an injury because I could still count backwards. It shows they don't get brain injury.

It is not an intellectual injury for most people.

I di agree that motivation is a powerful factor...with any health condition. Doing rehab for shoulder injuries, losing weight, flossing your teeth....all these things take motivation. And some times it is very hard to find for some people.

Social support and feeling loved by a few good people is also so important. Much more important than level of education, I would suspect!

Mokey, that is so true!

Like you, I am chronically over-educated. lol

I suffered a very serious TBI in 2007. In the aftermath of my injury, I couldn't count backwards or even circle all the triangles on a page. My neurologist told my husband it was hopeless and to just take me home.

As we have a young family, we couldn't accept that prognosis. We spent a fortune of our own money to access cognitive therapies, etc... that we couldn't get through the public system.

It's been a hard road, but I've reached the stage where I can, at least, type this error-filled post.

Why did I, perhaps, have a better outcome than less well-educated patients? My wonderful neuro-psychologist (who was shocked I was even alive, let alone speaking, etc...) thought there were many reasons.

For starters, my family had the financial resources to access extra help, and the confidence to advocate for care. Less educated people often lack money and are cowed by authority figures. In Canada, a brain injury patient who doesn't fight tooth and nail for attention, will be NEGLECTED. Classism is alive and well in medicine.

My education had taught me how to study and learn, and I was able to bring those skills to my therapy.

There is also the issue of HOLD SKILLS. Essentially, we tend to hold onto the things that were well drilled into our brains by formal training and practice.

In my case, as a professional writer, I retained (although reduced significantly) an ability to communicate - despite extensive damage to the areas of the brain thought to control language. As I seldom used it, I did, however, lose my french almost completely.

Well-educated people can also be better at covering up their deficits. I suffer from both apraxia and aphasia. However, I know tons of synonyms for everything. This makes it less obvious that I am fighting for words than a patient who didn't have my education and professional experience.

Still, I am not convinced that this ability to mask symptoms is always a blessing for patients who were high functioning premorbidly. While I'm grateful for the recovery I've managed, I am nowhere near back to MY normal. However, as I still test out higher on IQ tests, etc..., than the vast majority of the population, people assume I'm fine - and I find myself burdened with unrealistic expectations for my performance and behaviour.

Brain injury isn't just about intelligence; it's about being able to access and use that intelligence. As a brain injury patient, so many things get in the way of my ability to function: fatigue, tinnitus, memory issues, lack of impulse control, depression, seizures, slower processing, organizational problems, coordination issues, indecisiveness, filtering difficulties, etc..., etc...

My neuro-psychologist told me that while high-functioning individuals do tend to make the most progress, they also seem to feel more pain over what they have lost. We have the most "spare" capacity, but we also have the farthest to fall. That's the way I feel.

Sure I can write this post, but I will never be able to write and publish anymore fiction. Is that okay because most people couldn't write publishable fiction, in the first place? No, it's not - no matter what some dumb *** neurologist might think.

I once asked a neurologist if it would be okay if, in the aftermath of a TBI, he found himself unable to continue to function in his speciality, but could manage as a nursing home caregiver. All I got back was a blank look.