Traumatic Brain Injury

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Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI)

Description of the Disability

Traumatic brain injury (TBI), or intracranial injury, is a medical diagnosis which refers to closed or penetrative damage to the brain that is caused by an external source. Every year, TBIs affect approximately 150-250 people in a population of 100,000 (León-Carrión, Domínguez-Morales, Martín, & Murillo-Cabezas, 2005). The leading causes of TBI are traffic accidents, work injuries, sports injuries, and extreme violence (León-Carrión et al., 2005). TBI is most often fatal when the cause is an injury due to the use of firearms, a traffic accident, or a long fall (León-Carrión et al., 2005). However, fatality rates and rates of occurrence differ in various countries due to societal differences (León-Carrión et al., 2005).

TBI often varies in severity. It is often classified by its severity on the Glasgow Coma Scale (GCS), which rates the motor response, verbal response, and response as shown through eye movement of a patient during the 48 hours following his or her injury (Dawodu, 2011). This classifies the injury as mild, with a score of 13-15; moderate, with a score of 9-12; or severe, with a score of 3-8 (Dawodu, 2011). The injury may also be classified through the Ranchos Los Amigos Scale of Cognitive Functioning, which defines negative impact on cognitive functioning through the patient’s response time (Dawodu, 2011). Usually, the GCS corresponds with the Ranchos Los Amigos Scale, with more purposeful responses more evident in higher GCS scores. The changes that occur in a patient’s life are reflected best when considering the level of severity.

While fatality in TBI cases is a cause for concern, patients are more likely to survive the injury (León-Carrión et ...

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... all are receiving the best care possible from therapy.

In music therapy, a therapist should be positive and hopeful. However, this does not mean that a therapist should negate unhappy emotions that may be expressed by the client. Instead, he or she should respect these emotions and work with the patient to change them.

Works Cited

Dawodu, S. (2011). Traumatic brain injury (TBI) - definition, epidemiology, pathophysiology.

Retrieved from http://emedicine.medscape.com/article/326510-overview

León-Carrión, J., Domínguez-Morales, M., Martín, J., & Murillo-Cabezas, F. (2005).

Epidemiology of traumatic brain injury and subarachnoid hemorrhage. Retrieved from

http://www.springerlink.com/content/6213461j004054m1/fulltext.pdf

Murrey, G. (Ed.). (2006). Alternate Therapies in the Treatment of Brain Injury and

Neurobehavioural Disorders. London: Routledge.

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