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Family Focus
The impact of a brain injury is far-reaching. It changes almost every aspect of family life in one way or another, and affects every person connected with the child involved; parents, step-parents, siblings, aunts, uncles, grandparents, friends and extended family.
Children with acquired brain injury can feel like their lives have been turned upside down with no explanation, and it’s hard no longer to be seen for who they are – but only for their disabilities.
Brothers and sisters can feel isolated, guilty and terribly anxious about the new circumstances, often craving some attention, or else feeling responsible in some way.
Parents suddenly have a child whose future completely depends on how they manage the new situation. They must become experts in their child’s health, work through a massive amount of new information and new issues, manage family affairs (which continue regardless), as well as deal with their own reactions to what has happened.
Friends and extended family are often unsure how to relate to the child involved, feel terribly worried and upset by what has happened, and want to help as much as they can, but are often not sure what to do.
The Child Brain Injury Trust recognises that often it is a daily struggle for families to retain a sense of ‘normality’ in their lives, and also how important this sense of normality is so that families can continue to get the most out of life and enjoy being with each other.
Many families have been involved with the Child Brain Injury Trust over the past five years. The Trust is here to provide support and information to everyone affected by a childhood acquired brain injury – as little or as much as you need, whenever you need it.
At the centre of everything we do at the Child Brain Injury Trust are the families we support. We often enter the lives of these families at times of great crisis and tragedy. We do all we can to support the entire family and make sure they have access to local services that can meet their support needs.
To view some families we have helped, please visit our Case Studies page
