Brainy Tips
How Can I Help?
Tips to help the person that you know who has an ABI
If you are living with someone who has an Acquired Brain Injury (ABI) sometimes it is hard to know what to do or what to say. The most important thing to do is to tell someone that you trust what you are feeling, and then talk about what you might be able to do.
Remember to take care of yourself by making sure that you make time to do physical activities with your friends and talk to your family about organising some fun family days out and about together.
Here are some Brain Crew idea's to talk about with your family. We hope that these might be helpful.
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If your family member has Problems with Physical things (for example: Movement; how they feel things; seeing or hearing) you might need to do things like:
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Pick up your toys and try to keep your room tidy so that your family member doesn't trip over your things or step on them and break them
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Put things back where you got them from, so that your family member can find it. It is always good to have a particular place for everything if someone has a problem with vision (seeing) or even with remembering.
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Check with your family member about how they feel about the volume of the TV or your music when you first turn it on. Sometimes after a brain injury a person can be very sensitive to loud music.
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Be patient with your family member if they are slower at doing things. It is hard to learn to do things a new way if a part of your body (eg your hand or your leg) doesn't work how it used to.
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If your family member has Problems with Remembering Or Thinking Through How To Do Things that they use to be able to do you might need to do things like:
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Help your family member to remember things (For example, your school activities) by getting them to write them down in their diary or on the calendar. We remember better if we have something to remind us.
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Choose a place to keep important information, and always put your school notes there. Remind your family member to check these regularly.
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Remember that it is easier to concentrate when you have no distractions. If you want your family member to listen to you, talk to them with the TV or radio turned off.
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Slow down! Be prepared to take more time to talk through things to make sure that you have been understood by asking your family member to tell you what you have just said. Be prepared to calmly re-explain something if they did not understand. You may need to do this a number of times in some cases.
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If your family member has Problems Controlling the way they Act Or Behave you might need to do things like:
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Try to be patient with your relative if they are getting frustrated by "little things". They are not doing this on purpose. You may need to stop doing something if your family member is too distressed and frustrated. Try doing something fun for a while.
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Try not to get upset by what they are doing, even if it is silly. Do something different. Sometimes distracting someone to encourage them onto another subject can help.
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Keep yourself safe if your relative is getting very angry
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Don't get angry back - it will only make things worse.
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Try to understand that your relative may feel SAD for a long time after their brain injury because they have had to cope with a lot of changes since their injury. Be patient and try to think of fun things to do together.
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Give your relative plenty of notice if you need them to do something so that they have time to think about the situation.
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Don't try to argue with your relative about how they may have changed, because sometimes after a brain injury people cannot see the changes in themselves. Arguing could make the person frustrated and angry.
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Contact ABIOS
abios@health.qld.gov.au
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