I only skimmed the previous posts so if I repeat what might have already been said forgive me.

Basically on the school part, is this regular public school?
It could be just too over stimulating for her still.
Have you thought about trying an online school for her?

My dd used one for getting a few final credits and the one we used let them proceed pretty much at their own pace. A few hrs here & few later in the day even late at night if that is a good time.
Does she do Ok on a computer for short times?

this is the one we used but there are many others available ,some are free if linked to your state school districts -
http://www.connectionsacademy.com/home.aspx

PS - just read that it was tried already... maybe at a later time, or maybe it was the way that particular school software was set up. I noticed some use small fonts and only a narrow portion of the screen.

How did she get the original injury?
car accident , fall , sports.. ??

We did try online, but states she can't work from a computer. The school she will be starting is a school for students that have not been able to attend public school and needs more in depth counseling, mental health professionals, etc. She went to a night high school for a short time and then tried just going to public school for 2 hours a day.

One very small frustration such as having to wait to talk to a teacher, and she's done and won't go back. If a student makes a rude comment, or if a teacher tries to push her to participate, she runs out of the school and won't go back. They have provided areas for her to go calm down by herself, but she refuses to use them. She will call me hysterical and tells me she has to leave right now, that she can't and won't stay. If she has no way home, she takes off walking home...

I am sorry to hear of your struggles. It sounds similar to a friend of mine who was hit by a car and left comatose for 3.5 weeks. He has some OCD like responses. he makes mountains out of molehills.

Her above average intelligence but poor delayed recall is a tough symptom to live with. It feeds her behavioral problems. Has she tried to learn any work-arounds for her poor memory issues. She has good intelligence and should be able to use her intelligence to deal with her memory struggles.

It sounds like a real problem since she does not want to participate in her own recovery. Have they tried to use her favorite activities to get her engaged in life? A recreational therapist may have some ideas.

I wish I could offer more. Have you been to a support group for yourself? The camaraderie of other caregivers should be helpful. The ability to talk about daily struggles and have others who understand can be a great relief.

Hope you can find a good support group.

My best to you.

I don't know a lot about TBI's so i hope I'm not being insensitive on this issue or ignorant. I also don't know much about 18 year olds other than I used to be one (my kid is only 4.)

Seems she is not feeling in control of her life. Things changed that she didn't want. she will have to make these decisions on her own to gain control over what happened to her. You may need to just let her fail awhile and not push to fix it. See how that plays out. She may turn around. However, wth TBI she will need some help with that by presenting options (let her pick which one to pursue) to her and support - much support, when she is ready.

I can recall being in a situation without a TBI -but a situation where I felt trapped. One day I realized there are unlimited options in this world. (I think after reading the book called the option process or something like that.) You can choose just about any option in life. There are so many. You control your life, not the other way around. Even with disability this applies. You just have different tools to use to get to where you want to go. Maybe she doesn't see her options clearly. Find out what she wants and then ask her how she will get there. With that you can support her thought process to make it happen.

Best wishes to you.

sorry your family are going through this

as mark said, frontal lobe injurys don,t heal in as much that the brain repairs the damage but work rounds can be achieved lack of motivation, head aches, problems planing, personalty achanges are all caused by the injury

so all I can add is art type activities games that challenged her weaknesses but are fun a head injury groups run these type on programs but she should be accompanied this will help her build up some stamina for more formal schooling

its a long hard road I am still on to over come the damage a head injury suport group will help you and your child there is a list on the sticky at the top of the page

my best wishes to you

Exhausted_Sage:

I have memory issues, migraines and was just diagnosed with MS - and I have 3 gifted children. I also have a friend in S. FL with a highly gifted child - that being said I want to give you some ideas on how to approach your issue:

First - rather than fighting your daughter's issues, you need to go to the schoolboard, with letters in hand from her neuro, and psychologist/psychiatryst stating that she has a brain injury, and the resultant effects are that she has an anxiety disorder where she cannot study around other othe students or be in a large classroom setting and that she needs extra time on tests, etc (whatever accomodations she may need).
That she cannot focus on "virtual" school on line because of her vision problems and that she needs a tutor to come to the house on a daily basis (or they can meet at the local library in a conference room or at school in the tutor's office if need be).

The ADA provides that the school board is REQUIRED to make "reasonable accomodations" for your child. My friend with the highly gifted child had to have a special tutor until he reached high school simply because he was not challenged and his counselor stated that it was a negative effect on his development to hold him back.
They provided a tutor that came to their home three days a week after school. I also had a tutor come to our home every day during the summer when my daughter was being moved from first to third grade - to make sure she was ready, and to prepare her for anything she may have missed. Both of these tutors were at the school board's cost.

You do have the issue of your daughter being 18, however, depending on your state, local municipality and school board, that may not matter - you may not need to get any type of legal custodial arrangement simply because she is still in school and that may not effect the school board.

I do not know where you live, but you should check with your local Bar Association or if there is a law school in your area call them and ask either of these if they have a Pro Bono service, free legal aide or Lawyer assistance at reduced rates. You may be able to get an attorney to help you run the gauntlett of the school board.

Either way - you can do this on your own - ask the school counselor or call the school board and find out who at the school board handles "special services for students" - make an appointment and camp out at their office until you get what you want. *you can always threaten to go to the newspaper - "local student denied school services because of brain injury. They don't want THAT published.

It would seem to me, a parent of 3 teenagers, that part of her anxiety, is the fear of goiing back, failing, being "that girl" , etc. If you can get her set up in a program over the summer, and get her back into the groove, maybe the two classes a day will be the way to go in the fall - and if not, then maybe she needs the tutor through summer and fall to get her through her courses so she can take the GED.

Then she can think about community college, or a work/study program/ or whatever seems best for her at that time. Regardless, you pay for the public school system, make them work for you.

Best of Luck

GatorGirl '83

Have you contacted a rehabilitation group like NeuroRestorative? My granddaughter is presently receiving treatment there. They have locations across the country and I have been very impressed. It is a residential facility and they are observed 24 hours a day. They have a high staff to patient ratio. They also gear the treatment to each patient. So what may be good for my granddaughter might not be what yours needs. I know that Neuro treats adolescents until they are 21. I don't know if this will be an option for you, but it would be worth checking into.