A Silent Epidemic
Brain injuries can happen to anyone; more than five million people in the United States today have had a Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI). A Traumatic Brain Injury is an injury to the brain caused by an outside physical force that causes disability and meets all of the following criteria:
- Involves an open or closed head injury.
- Results from a single event or many, such as multiple concussions.
- Occurs with or without a loss of consciousness at the time of injury.
- Results in impairments in one or more areas of the following functions: cognition; language; memory; attention; reasoning; abstract thinking; judgment; problem-solving; sensory, perceptual, and motor abilities; psychosocial behavior; physical functions; information processing; and speech.
- Does not include brain injuries that are present at birth or the result of a degenerative disease.
People with a TBI may need help in performing daily activities like feeding themselves or getting dressed. However, most people do not realize how a brain injury, even from a minor blow to the head, can impact their behavior or ability to function. Brain injury affects five times more people annually than breast cancer, HIV/AIDS, spinal cord injury, and Multiple Sclerosis combined.*
In North Carolina, TBI that occurs after age 22 may meet the criteria of a developmental disability and Trillium can help you find the services you need. Call us at 1-877-685-2415. You can also contact the Brain Injury Association of North Carolina at the numbers below.
Brain Injury Association of North Carolina Offices
| Statewide Family Helpline | 800-377-1464 | Charlotte area | 919-833-9634 |
| Greenville area | 252-717-3347 | Asheville area | 828-337-0208 |
| Raleigh area | 919-833-9634 | Triad Office | 336-713-8582 |
Online Resources
Sources:
CDC Estimates of Traumatic Brain Injury-Related Disability
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