Rehabilitation and outcome following pediatric traumatic brain injury

Mounting evidence indicates that children are more vulnerable than adults to the consequences of traumatic brain injuries. The long-term outcome following traumatic brain injuries sustained in childhood must be viewed in the context of development and maturation. The ultimate outcome is determined by the impact on the child's ability to achieve developmental milestones following injury. Although neuronal plasticity provides a potential for neuronal reorganization, neuronal reorganization is generally incomplete and comes at a cost to long-term development. Pediatric rehabilitation is the setting that not only provides the behavioral and environmental demands necessary to stimulate neuronal reorganization, but also sets the stage for meeting the child's long-term recovery and developmental needs.