According to the Brain Injury Association of America, every 23 seconds, someone in the U.S. sustains a traumatic brain injury (TBI). TBIs can impact the functionality of the brain—affecting thinking, reasoning, and memory.

To raise awareness of traumatic brain injury, the Brain Injury Association of America recognizes National Brain Injury Awareness Month every March.

Whether the victim is an adult, a child, or an infant, TBIs can have a major impact on individuals and their families. In order to bring awareness to National Brain Injury Month, the NCTSN offers the following resources for families, military families, and professionals on traumatic brain injury.

In order to view and print some of the materials provided, you will need Acrobat Reader. If it is not loaded in your computer, you can download it for free by visiting www.adobe.com.

Brain Injury Association of America

• Challenges, Changes, and Choices: A Brain Injury Guide for Families and Caregivers (PDF)
  Booklet on the nature and consequences of brain injury. Contains information to help with decision making and practical suggestions about ways caregivers can help family members, take care of themselves, and enlist the support of others.
• Living with Brain Injury For Parents & Kids: Frequently Asked Questions
  Questions and answers to help parents and children obtain a better understanding of TBI.
• A Physician Talks about Severe Brain Injury: The Basics (PDF)
  Booklet that helps families understand what is happening to their loved one in the days, weeks, and months following a serious brain injury.
• Shaken Baby Fact Sheet (PDF)
  Fact sheet on shaken baby syndrome, its prevention, and consequences.
• Sports and Recreation Fact Sheet (PDF)
  Fact sheet on sports-related traumatic brain injuries.

BrainLine

• Website
  A national multimedia project offering information and resources about preventing, treating, and living with TBI.

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

• Heads Up: Concussion in Youth Sports
      >En Español: Atención: conmoción cerebral en el deporte juvenil
  Offers information on concussions—a type of traumatic brain injury—to coaches, parents, and youth athletes.

National Dissemination Center for Children with Disabilities

• Website
  Provides information on disabilities in children and youth, and programs and services for infants, children, and youth with disabilities.

Shaken Baby Alliance

• Website
  Provides support to families of victims of shaken baby syndrome and others affected by this form of child abuse.
• Crying Plan (PDF)
  A form that gives parents a place to create a list of steps to take and people to reach out to when frustration with a crying infant becomes intolerable.

National Center for Injury Prevention and Control

• Heads Up: Brain Injury in Your Practice
  Toolkit for physicians on traumatic brain injury, including brain injury facts, materials for patients, and links to additional resources.

Brain Injury Association of America

• Soldiers with Traumatic Brain Injury (PDF)
  Fact sheet on TBI in service members.

Defense and Veterans Brain Injury Center (DVBIC)

• Website
  Collaborative that develops treatment for brain-injured veterans and military personnel, conducts research, and provides educational materials on the prevention and treatment of TBI.

PDHealth.mil

• Quick Facts: Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) and Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) (PDF)
  Fact sheet on two types of trauma—one physical and one psychological—that military personnel are at risk for.