Title : Aging with disability: Early- onset acquired brain injury
Abstract:
Children with special health-care needs (CSHN) have or are at increased risk for chronic physical, developmental, behavioral, or emotional conditions and also require health and related services of a type or amount beyond that required by their peers. Acquired brain injury (ABI) is one of the common causes of early onset disability and aging with ABI can be overwhelming and alarming for the patients and families. In order to serve aging CSHN with ABI through best practices, providers need to understand the developmental course of disability over the life span and provide comprehensive care to focus on primary and secondary prevention. Furthermore, public health model of prevention should include primary, secondary and also tertiary prevention: use of environmental modifications and technologies to remove barriers to participation in life. In this lecture, World Health Organization International Classification of Function and United States Preventive Services Task Force recommendations will be discussed in relation to real life case presentations. The emphasis will be on lifetime care that demands clinicians recognize key health-related concerns and target interventions in people with early-onset disabilities who are predisposed to having multiple chronic conditions. The medical complications of ABI and their impact on activity, participation, and independence will be outlined with current evidence base.