Our purpose is to serve any and all individuals over 18 in Ventura County who have a brain injury.  We also work with families and caretakers of people with brain injury.

There are two basic categories of brain injury:

Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI), results from damage to brain tissue caused by an external force. The most frequent causes of TBI are motor vehicle accidents, acts of violence, falls, sports and recreational injuries, lightening strikes, electric shocks, and blows to the head.  Veterans of military combat in Iraq and Afghanistan frequently receive traumatic brain injuries from the repercussive effects of a car bomb or other explosion.  TBI can occur without any outward physical evidence of injury or trauma.

Acquired Brain Injury, (ABI), results from damage to the brain caused by strokes, tumors, anoxia, hypoxia, toxins, degenerative diseases, near drowning and/or other conditions not necessarily caused by an external force.

Some of the consequences of brain injury: 

Cognitive Issues

• Short and/or long term memory loss
• Difficulty with concentration
• Difficulty with communication
• Spatial disorientation
• Reduced endurance
• Difficulty with problem solving
• Impaired process thinking, difficulty with sequencing

Physical Changes

• Seizures
• Headaches
• Impaired vision
• Hearing loss
• Impaired sense of taste and smell
• Problems with balance and mobility
• Fatigue
• Chronic pain

 Psychosocial/Behavioral/Emotional:

• Anxiety
• Anger
• Depression
• Mood swings
• Denial
• Isolation
• Sleep disorder
• Sexual difficulties
• Emotional instability
• Egocentricity
• Impulsivity

Lifestyle Changes

• Loss of financial and personal independence
• Loss of job, spouse, family members, friends
• Lack of affordable housing and accessible public transportation
• Need for adaptive equipment and long-term care

A person with a brain injury may experience one or more of these life challenges.  A family faces the difficulty of adjusting to life after a loved one suffers a brain injury.  The Brain Injury Center works with brain injury survivors and their families to help them get on a path toward a higher quality life.