Young Adult Brain Injury Recovery: Getting Your Life Back
After a TBI or concussion, it can be hard to adjust to a new “normal.” Your brain has changed, and every area of your life has been impacted. Brain injury recovery can happen quickly for some individuals; however, for others, there are long-term effects that have to be managed.
Did You Know…
Brain injuries are most likely to happen between ages 15-24. This period of late teenage years and early adulthood is a time of profound development and change both in the brain and in life situations, and often these injuries can impact this transition to adulthood in things like:
- Achieving independence from parents
- Completing school, trade certifications, or college
- Establishing a vocation
- Forming social connections that last
- And more.
Often, we think about TBI recovery as just being able to read, learn, focus, and remember again—but it goes much deeper! Restoring confidence in these key life skill areas needs to be a big part of your goal heading into recovery.
A Targeted, Whole-Brain Approach to Brain Injury Recovery
Brain training involves specific exercises designed to challenge and strengthen the brain’s neural pathways. These exercises have helped individuals with TBI improve their memory, attention, processing speed, and other cognitive functions that may have been impacted by their injury.
One of the key benefits of brain training after a brain injury is that it can be personalized to meet each person’s individual needs. This means that we can tailor training to address the specific cognitive deficits that a person may be experiencing. Every brain responds to injury differently. Some lose the ability to read. Others may struggle with memory or focus. Some deal with spatial awareness or visual processing changes. Brain training can focus on the specific areas of struggle for each individual.
Does it Make an Impact?
For many TBI survivors, injuries damaged connections between key areas of the brain. The great news is that the brain’s neuroplasticity never goes away! You have the ability to strengthen and create new neural networks to make thinking and learning more efficient, and brain training is a great tool to help you do that.
During fMRI scans, our research has shown new connections formed between key areas of the brain. These connections correlated with improvements in working memory, attention, long-term memory, reading, logic, and so much more.
Watch this powerful story of Emily sharing her journey after a concussion robbed her of her confidence and ability to function well in daily life:
Beyond Cognitive Improvements: Real Life Benefits from Brain Training for Young Adults with Brain Injuries
Beyond these improved skills to make thinking and learning easier, it’s exciting to see that brain training has also helped many individuals get their life back in some very tangible ways. In a research study, young adults with mild traumatic brain injury who completed LearningRx training reported improvements in:
- Mood
- Outlook on life
- Confidence
- Communication skills
- Social skills
- Work and school performance
- Cognition
- Memory
- Focus and attention
- Life skills
Improving cognitive skills with brain training has the potential to have some amazing benefits for you outside of just improved learning. Every brain is different and your outcome is going to be unique to your situation, needs, and goals, but we’d love the chance to share more about this option to add to your recovery journey!
(Results from surveys and studies of past clients. Outcomes may vary.)
