The front portion of the brain, or frontal lobes, are particularly vulnerable to damage during accidents. Individuals with traumatic brain injury frequently have what is called a “frontal lobe injury.” This is significant because this area of the brain is responsible for so many important skills for successful community reintegration: our personality and mood, our ability to plan and organize events, to manage and monitor time, to focus our attention and problem-solve, to sequence and coordinate motor movements, and the list goes on and on...

Principal Julie Sterner's injury impaired her ability to read and multitask after falling in a bounce house. She said therapy helped her become herself again.

York, PA - Last summer, Julie Sterner broke down in the ice-cream aisle at a grocery store. She couldn't remember what she wanted to buy. The bright lights, people and choices were too much for her mind to handle. She felt overwhelmed and panicked.

"I didn't know how to get out," Sterner said.

In April, the 33-year-old fell in an inflatable bounce house during a Dover Area Senior High School event.

Sterner -- principal at Dover Intermediate School -- hooked up to an elastic cord to race a student. She lay on the inflated floor after she slipped and the band snapped her body backward to the ground. She felt groggy as pain circled her head. She thought she was OK, so she went home and slept. She awoke the next day with a headache and felt fatigued.

This is one of our most AMAZING success stories involving a TBI patient

Kelly Buggle suffered a TBI from a car accident when she was a senior in high school. Her injuries included upper body trauma, fracture of both arms, broken vertebrates, cracked ribs, and the list went on. Because Kelly had so many physical injuries her TBI went unnoticed at first. Once Kelly recovered physically he family and friends started to notice that she couldn’t identify simple objects like a “microwave.” Prior to the accident Kelly was at the top of her math class and afterwards she couldn’t even do simple addition.  In addition she couldn’t comprehend what others were saying to her and felt hopeless...watch her video testimonial...
 

Children who have a Traumatic Brain Injury typically go through a course of rehabilitation. It seems that although there are clusters of similarities in these patients, there are rarely ever 2 that exhibit the exact same difficulties after their injury. I met a 7 year old who had fallen off of a truck, and had suffered a TBI. He required surgery to repair a hole in his skull from the fall. This little guy received OT, PT and speech for a year in an intensive program and did very well. One year post his accident, he was demonstrating great recovery in every area – walking with no support or braces, cognitively intact and able to complete 1^st grade work without assistance, speaking clearly and without difficulty. His last resulting effect was a left hemiplegia. His left arm dangled from his side and was non functional. This was very frustrating to him and to his family.

Do you remember Congresswoman Gabby Giffords? Well in the 10 months since a bullet left her in critical condition and suffering from aphasia—the inability to speak- Mrs. Giffords is now singing thanks to music therapy!

I hope I didn’t brain my damage…

In an article written in Discovery Fitness & Health, it is explained that the brain has the ability to re-generate connections between neurons. Essentially by creating new pathways between healthy areas of the brain and those affected by the injury, the brain learns to operate those affected tasks in other healthy areas; a process called neuroplasticity, which is essentially the ability of the brain to change structurally and functionally. It is in this area that Interactive Metronome^®(IM) can help those who have suffered from a brain injury or stroke get back the skills they have lost as a result of their trauma.

IM is an assessment and treatment tool that is based on rhythm and timing. The patient performs a suite of technical movements to a constant beat that are specific to their diagnosis and is overseen by an IM specialist, the program is modified to meet each individual needs for maximum outcomes. These exercises stimulate the brain to make connections to healthy areas so it can improve the ones affected.

Whether it’s a small trauma or a severe injury, the brain has the ability to learn new connections; and while brain damage is scary for most people, there are ways to recover from it.

Visit our success stories page to see recent cases!

It seemed like the end of the road for this near-drowning victim. Adam suffered from a plethora of impairments due to his accident. IM was introduced as part of Adam’s therapy plan to help with his attention and focus. Before IM, Adam could not sit unsupported or feed himself… and now he has received the Chair Scholar Scholarship, a prepaid four-year college tuition for students with significant disabilities seeking a regular diploma. Find out how IM helped him succeed.