Just as no two people are exactly alike, no two brain injuries are exactly alike. For some, brain injury is the start of a lifelong disease process. Brain injury requires access to a full continuum of treatment and community-based supports provided by appropriately educated clinicians serving on an interdisciplinary treatment team.
The individual who sustains a brain injury and his or her family are the most important members of the treatment team. Their choices, goals, and backgrounds must always be taken into consideration in treatment planning.
The diagram above depicts brain injury treatment in an orderly progression from trauma care to community integration. Individuals who sustain brain injuries may enter, exit, and re-enter treatment at any point along the continuum. Treatment may be needed continuously or on an intermittent basis throughout the individual’s life.
