Reasons to Offer Formalized Support for Students with TBI

There are hidden costs to offering only informal supports to students with TBI, insead of a Section 504 plan or special education services.  Here are a few:

TBI is the only disability specifically related to an event

• Student abilities often change rapidly.
• Student adjustment to new set of abilities is critical after the event.
• Student, family, and school may have loss issues that may affect school performance and remain un-addressed.

Subtle medical issues related to TBI are likely to be ignored when a student is served informally or under a different special education category

• Fatigue, sleep issues, and headaches are common for students with TBI but may not be part of other disabilities.

For students already in special education, IEP goals don’t tend to change to meet new needs following a TBI

• A recent review of IEP goals for students with TBI found no new goals related to TBI for students who sustained the injury after they had already been identified for SPED in another category.

A student’s TBI may be forgotten

• The onset of difficulties from the TBI may be delayed and appear as the student matures.

Without correct identification, wrong interventions are often applied

• Behavior difficulties treated as unrelated to TBI can lead to punishment of the student or inappropriate interventions.

Community costs of TBI without intervention are high

• Unmet needs in school lead to higher drop out rates of students with TBI.
• Adults with TBI have a higher incidence of mental health issues, behavior problems, medical complications, and unemployment or under employment.
• Students tend to “graduate, go home, and sit” without appropriate interventions.

Without documentation, students’ needs and effective interventions can easily be lost

• Students’ needs are lost as they transition between grades and schools without formalized support that is documented and follows the student between settings.

Students with TBI often need to be taught new behaviors or skills directly using specialized instruction

• These can be in a variety of areas, such as self-management, planning, memory, behavior, and academics.