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- Disability Categories
- Autism
- Deaf-Blindness
- Deafness
- Emotional Behavioral Disorder
- Hearing Impairment or Deafness
- Cognitively Disabled
- Multiple Disabilities
- Orthopedic Impairment
- Other Health Impairment
- Specific Learning Disability
- Speech and Language Disability or Impairment
- Traumatic Brain Injury
- Visual Impairment and Blindness
Treatments
Most people who have had a significant brain injury will require rehabilitation. They may need to relearn basic skills, such as walking or talking. The overall goal is to improve their abilities to function at home and in the community. Therapy usually begins in the hospital and continues at an inpatient rehabilitation unit, a residential treatment facility or through outpatient services. The type and duration of rehabilitation varies by individual, depending on the severity of the brain injury and what part of the brain was injured. Rehabilitation specialists may include:
- Psychiatrist, a medical doctor specializing in rehabilitative medicine, who oversees the entire rehabilitative process
- Occupational therapist who helps you learn, relearn or improve skills to perform everyday activities
- Physical therapist, who helps with mobility and relearning movement patterns, balance and walking
- Speech and language pathologist, who helps you improve communication skills and use assistive communication devices if necessary
- Neuropsychologist or psychiatrist, who helps you manage behaviors or learn coping strategies, provide talk therapy as needed for emotional and psychological well-being, and prescribe psychotherapeutic medication as needed
- Social worker or case manager, who facilitates access to service agencies, assists with care decisions and planning, and facilitates communication among various professionals, care providers and family members
- Rehabilitation nurse, who provides ongoing rehabilitation care and services and who helps with discharge planning from the hospital or rehabilitation facility
- Traumatic brain injury nurse specialist, who helps coordinate care and educates families about the injury and recovery process
- Recreational therapist, who helps you explore and participate in leisure activities
- Vocational counselor, who assesses your ability to return to work, appropriate vocational opportunities and provides resources for addressing common challenges in the workplace.