Perception

Physical	Communication	Cognitive	Behavioural / Emotional

Perception is the process within the brain of the interpretation of the information it is receiving through the senses. It is how we ‘see’ the world around us. This ability to process this sensory information may be damaged following a brain injury.

Sight is the sense most often disrupted following a brain injury. This may result in problems such as not being able to recognise objects or faces, losing the ability to see on one side, being unable to judge distances between the person and an object, or phenomena such as unilateral neglect which is a condition where a person may not be aware of the existence of one side of their body. Other senses such as hearing, taste, touch or smell can all be affected in various ways.

A brain injury can also affect the perception of time. We all have an inbuilt ‘clock’. Disruption of this sense of time may for example result in someone spending 4 hours in a shower and not be aware of how long they have been there.

Child 1 - Aged 14 and 3 years after a traumatic brain injury

	2019	2020	Change
REASONING	301/800	426/800	+ 125
MEMORY	181/800	304/800	+ 123
ATTENTION	463/800	573/800	+ 110
COORDINATION	47/800	309/800	+ 262
PERCEPTION	158/800	374/800	+ 216

"Case management for children and young people post acquired brain injury is 'pivotal' to successful outcomes and must be local"

Deborah Andrews; New Zealand

"We need to harness the power of brain plasticity for treating children and young people with brain injury, especially at the key ages of 0-3 and at ages 10-16"

Professor Bryan Kolb; Canada

"When different organisations assess different aspects of a child's neuro-rehabilitation needs, everyone looks at things from a different perspective and have conflicting priorities"

Cathy Jonson; Rehab without Walls; United Kingdom.

"Too often children and young people with ABI are discharged from hospital without specialist brain support that they and their families need to overcome lifelong challenges"

Andrew Ross; former Chief Executive of the Children's Trust

"Often families don't have the financial capability to access services. We need to rethink how we deliver neuro-rehab services to children and young people"

Vicki Anderson; Australia

"NHS clinicians struggle with what intervention to prioritise in paediatric neuro-rehabilitation due to limited clinical time and the complexity of needs. Children, clinicians, parents and schools all have different neuro-rehabilitation priorities"

Recolo; United Kingdom

"Different 'experts' involved in paediatric neuro-rehabilitation come from different organisational cultures which causes conflict and has a negative effect on the outcomes for the child."

Barbara O'Connell; Ireland

"Participation in teen sports and normal activities leads to improved quality of life for children and young people post brain injury and helps to maximise outcomes"

Claire Willis; Australia

"Families need to be properly supported as 'resilience' is key to delivering successful outcomes for children and young people."

Roberta De Pompeii; USA

OUR MISSION: To work to remove inequalities for children & young people affected by acquired brain injury; and provide effective support to their families that makes a real difference to their lives.