Acquired Brain Injury
Neurological Rehabilitation & Acquired Brain Injury Therapy
Acquired brain injury stems from non-traumatic causes, such as strokes, seizures and tumors. The most serious of these injuries can affect a person’s ability to speak, or move — and even impact their personalities.
At HealthBridge, our experienced care team offers highly-advanced care and neurological rehabilitation in a family-friendly, community-based setting. The goal of our acquired brain injury support services is to focus on the cognitive, physical, emotional or behavioral impairments that have caused changes in functioning.
Personalized Neurological Rehab
Our care team develops highly personalized care plans informed by the most up-to-date brain injury and neurological medicine. We understand that patients with acquired brain injuries suffer from limited independence and have a higher-level need for specialized care. At HealthBridge, our goal is to provide these patients with the best possible quality of life.
HealthBridge…Where specialized care begins and hope never ends
Programs
Commonly Asked Questions
A non-traumatic brain injury or acquired brain injury (ABI) is an injury sustained after birth, which is not hereditary, congenital, degenerative or induced by birth trauma. Technically a TBI is an acquired brain injury, however because the scope of TBI is so significant, it’s usually separated out in healthcare discussions.
In addition to TBI, an acquired brain injury (ABI) is caused by internal brain factors and encompasses strokes, brain tumors and illnesses, infection, poison, drug and alcohol abuse, near-drowning incidents or any incident that depletes oxygen from the brain, e.g., heart attack. An acquired brain injury (ABI) could also be the result of an unrelated surgery.
While symptoms will range from moderate to severe depending on the related diagnosis, they can include significant physical, cognitive and emotional impairments. Physical indications could include seizures, headaches, changes in vision and problems with balance and sleep. Cognitive indications could include memory loss, difficulty with concentration, confusion, and communications challenges. Emotional impairments from acquired brain injuries (ABIs) include irritability, personality changes and mood swings.
Because each individual case is unique, long-term effects and recovery potential is difficult to predict and could range from minor to dramatic. Most individuals with an acquired brain injury (ABI) will likely have permanent signs of increased fatigue and cognitive challenges.
A disability with lasting physical or mental impairment can be eligible for Social Security disability benefits. Disability benefits will only be approved if the injury meets the requirements listed in the Social Security Administration’s Blue Book. However, the application process is tedious and takes up to 120 days to complete. Only 30 percent of applicants are approved at this stage. The remaining 70 percent of applicants denied benefits will face a lengthy and difficult appeals process.
KEY ACQUIRED BRAIN INJURY (ABI) STATISTICS
- More than 3.6 million Americans sustain an acquired brain injury every year.
- Every 9 seconds, someone in the U.S. sustains an acquired brain injury (ABI).
- Males are estimated to be 1.5 times more likely to sustain an acquired brain injury (ABI) than women and because of high risk behaviors these injuries are typically more severe.
- Most brain injury recovery happens within the first two years, making the selection of the right post-acute rehabilitation facility and care team critical.