Support for children following traumatic brain injury: the views of Educational Psychologists

Purpose: For many years, neuroscientific research appeared to support the view that the young brain was more resilient and better able to withstand damage than the mature brain. More recent neuroscience research has questioned this view. Nevertheless, the view that 'younger is better' continues to be accepted by many medical practitioners. The present study sought to establish whether the training and experience of educational psychologists has made them aware that young children are particularly vulnerable to long-term effects of brain injury. Method. Educational psychologists were asked to estimate the need for additional social/family and educational support, and how long such additional support would be needed, in four fictitious but clinically-based case studies which differed only in the reported age of the child/adolescent at the time of the injury. Results: Educational psychologists consistently rated young children with brain injuries as needing more additional social/family support for longer than adolescents. Conclusions: These results suggest that there is an appreciation of the additional needs of young children who have sustained brain injuries within our educational system.