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The Things that Help, the Things that Get in the Way: Working Together to Improve Outcome Following Acquired Brain Injury

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  21 December 2018

Jacinta M. Douglas Open the ORCID record for Jacinta M. Douglas [Opens in a new window]
Jacinta M. Douglas*
Affiliation:
Living with Disability Research Centre, School of Allied Health, La Trobe University, Victoria, Australia Moving Ahead, Centre for Research Excellence in Brain Recovery, Sydney, Australia Summer Foundation, Victoria, Australia
*
Address for correspondence: Professor Jacinta Douglas, Living with Disability Research Centre, College of Science Health and Engineering, La Trobe University, Bundoora, Victoria 3086, Australia. E-mail: j.douglas@latrobe.edu.au
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Abstract

Working in neurological rehabilitation brings with it numerous opportunities to gain an understanding of the factors that contribute to shaping meaningful living and wellbeing for those tackling the major life changes encountered following acquired brain injury (ABI). These opportunities come in many forms: challenging and brave clients, wise and worrying families, questioning and inspiring colleagues, empowering and limiting work environments and rigid and advancing policy and legislative contexts.

Our personal and collective understanding of the things that help and the things that get in the way of effective rehabilitation continuously emerges from the convergence of the experience and knowledge afforded by these opportunities. The aim of this paper is to consider the things that help and the things that get in the way as they have been identified by people with ABI, their families and those who work with them and have been further evidenced through research targeted towards improving short, medium and long-term outcomes for those living with the consequences of ABI. These things as discussed in this paper capture the essential role of the self, the importance of rights and access to rehabilitation, the impact of the family and the contribution of social connection.

Keywords

acquired brain injuryoutcomerehabilitationselfidentityfamilyfriends
Type
Presidential address
Information
Brain Impairment , Volume 19 , Issue 3 , December 2018 , pp. 258 - 269
Copyright
Copyright © Australasian Society for the Study of Brain Impairment 2018 

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