Brain Injury and Headway
Good morning, I am Danielle and today I am going to talk to you about Brain Injury and the charity Headway, please may I ask you to keep any questions until the end of the presentation.
I would like to say at this point that if anything I say today causes anyone to feel uncomfortable then please feel free to leave the room and rejoin US when you are ready.
My aim today is to give you a greater understanding of the brain, how brain injury can affect a person and what Headway has to offer.
SLIDE - THE BRAIN
Before I explain how brain injury effects us I would like to give you an incite into how complex brain is.
The brain: * weighs about 3lbs, or just under 1.5Kg * has the texture of blancmange * is made up of about 100 billion nerve cells and even more support cells, which provide nourishment to the nerve cells * makes up just 2% of our weight, but looks after a massive 98% of our functions.
By removing some of this ability it can have a catastrophic effect on a persons life – it is quick to damage but takes a long time to recover – like this block game, one move and its collapsed, but it would take me time to rebuild it, even when not all the blocks are in place it is still a solid structure – much like the brain. It can take a long time to rehabilitate after a brain injury, a lot of time and energy needs to be put in to it.
SLIDE - WHEN IT’S INJURED
Brain injury comes in many different forms and causes, anything from falling off a bike, a car accident or a stroke. The brain is like other parts of our body it bruises and swells when injured, just as a thumb or a toe would. But in some crucial ways it is very different. The cells in our brains form tiny working circuits that allow us to function and any injury has the effect of breaking these circuits. Following an injury the cells around the injured part must take on some of the duties that were carried out by the injured part, it can make everything slower and less
I would like to say at this point that if anything I say today causes anyone to feel uncomfortable then please feel free to leave the room and rejoin US when you are ready.
My aim today is to give you a greater understanding of the brain, how brain injury can affect a person and what Headway has to offer.
SLIDE - THE BRAIN
Before I explain how brain injury effects us I would like to give you an incite into how complex brain is.
The brain: * weighs about 3lbs, or just under 1.5Kg * has the texture of blancmange * is made up of about 100 billion nerve cells and even more support cells, which provide nourishment to the nerve cells * makes up just 2% of our weight, but looks after a massive 98% of our functions.
By removing some of this ability it can have a catastrophic effect on a persons life – it is quick to damage but takes a long time to recover – like this block game, one move and its collapsed, but it would take me time to rebuild it, even when not all the blocks are in place it is still a solid structure – much like the brain. It can take a long time to rehabilitate after a brain injury, a lot of time and energy needs to be put in to it.
SLIDE - WHEN IT’S INJURED
Brain injury comes in many different forms and causes, anything from falling off a bike, a car accident or a stroke. The brain is like other parts of our body it bruises and swells when injured, just as a thumb or a toe would. But in some crucial ways it is very different. The cells in our brains form tiny working circuits that allow us to function and any injury has the effect of breaking these circuits. Following an injury the cells around the injured part must take on some of the duties that were carried out by the injured part, it can make everything slower and less