Measuring Pre-Injury Performance

A single measure is usually not sufficient to determine pre-injury performance. Gathering information from multiple sources can improve the likelihood of accurately understanding the student’s abilities before the brain injury. 

There are a variety of sources for gathering information on pre-injury performance, including:

Parent interviews

• Social-emotional issues: friendships, independent activities, participation in family activities, etc.
• Ability to learn new information.
• Appropriate use of language in social settings, etc. 
• Developmental milestones, especially in areas of language development, attention, and memory.

Teacher interviews

• Behavior and social-emotional issues at school: effective interaction in social situations, appropriate behavior during class, etc.
• Appropriate use of language in school.
• Attention, persistence and mental flexibility.
• Ability to learn new information.
• Problem solving.
• Organization.

Early medical records

• APGAR Scores.
• Well-child exams.
• Information on prior injuries.

Current medical information

• Medications and side effects may impact student performance.

School records

• Preschool records.
• Elementary records.
• District and state-wide assessments.
• Notes on behavior and discipline.
• Attendance records.

Previous assessments

• Previous evaluations.
• Learning style reports.
• Placement in special classes (including TAG).

Outside of school

• Compare current interests and activities to pre-injury interests and activities

Related Tools

Comparing Pre- to Post-Injury Performance