Acquired brain injury
The Children's Trust offers both residential and community-based rehabilitation services for children and young people with acquired brain injury (ABI).
In 1985 we started the UK's first ever paediatric brain injury rehabilitation service and have since developed an international reputation for excellence. Hundreds of children and their families have experienced the difference we can make.
The Trust runs the UK's largest paediatric residential rehabilitation centre, in a state-of-the-art building opened by broadcaster Richard Hammond in April 2009. Our specialist Brain Injury Community Team offers services to children and young people as they return to the community after a brain injury. In addition, our Tadworth Brain Injury Co-ordinators, clinical experts based at Sheffield and Nottingham Children's Hospitals, offer specialist support to children with acquired brain injury. Our Brain Injury Hub (www.braininjuryhub.co.uk) is a dedicated website providing information and support to parents and other family members of children with acquired brain injury, drawing on the expertise of our clinical team.
» Download our brochure introducing our specialist services
The Trust's flexible services reflect the range of abilities and needs of children with brain injuries; from those who are minimally conscious to those who appear to have made a full physical recovery but are left with 'hidden' problems with their cognition, memory, communication and behaviour.
All our services are provided by teams which include therapists, nurses, medical and care staff and teachers.
» Watch our short film all about our brain injury rehabilitation service
» REFER A CHILD: If you are ready to refer a child to one of our services, please click here to download our referral form, which you can complete and return to us
The need for post-acute treatment
Specialist input is essential in helping children who have sustained a brain injury to maximise their potential and build upon any initial recovery they might have made. Therapy, nursing care and medical input are vital to maintain the child’s health and quality of life long-term and equip them for returning to their community.
» Read our latest report highlighting the impact and outcomes of our acquired brain injury services
Our services aim to:
- maximise each child’s potential
- restore lost skills where possible, develop alternative skills and provide compensatory aids as needed
- facilitate new learning beyond the end of the child’s natural recovery period
- develop an understanding of the child’s needs
- ensure the child’s home environment is modified for the way they will function after their brain injury
- prevent secondary problems such as joint contractures developing.
The rehabilitation team also works with the child and their family to help them come to terms with the new needs of their child.
We also run events for young people aged 14-19 who have a brain injury because of an accident or illness, giving them the opportunity to meet other young people who have also had a brain injury. Click here for more information.
Click here to read about one young person's experience of rehabilitation at The Children's Trust after she was seriously injured in a road accident.
Download our brochure, which provides information on all of The Children's Trust's acquired brain injury services.