It is actually estimated that more than 1 million adults inside the UK are at the moment living with the long-term consequences of brain injuries (Headway, 2014b). Prices of ABI have increased significantly in recent years, with estimated increases more than ten years ranging from 33 per cent (Headway, 2014b) to 95 per cent (HSCIC, 2012). This boost is as a result of a variety of things such as improved emergency response following injury (Powell, 2004); extra cyclists interacting with heavier traffic flow; elevated participation in dangerous sports; and larger numbers of incredibly old persons in the population. In accordance with Good (2014), probably the most widespread causes of ABI in the UK are falls (22 ?43 per cent), assaults (30 ?50 per cent) and road targeted traffic accidents (circa 25 per cent), though the latter category accounts for a disproportionate number of more extreme brain injuries; other causes of ABI consist of sports injuries and domestic violence. Brain injury is much more widespread amongst men than females and shows peaks at ages fifteen to thirty and more than eighty (Good, 2014). International information show similar patterns. For example, within the USA, the Centre for Illness Handle estimates that ABI affects 1.7 million Americans every single year; kids aged from birth to 4, older teenagers and adults aged over sixty-five have the highest prices of ABI, with guys additional susceptible than ladies across all age ranges (CDC, undated, Traumatic Brain Injury in the United states: Fact Sheet, obtainable online at www.cdc.gov/ traumaticbraininjury/get_the_facts.html, accessed December 2014). There is certainly also increasing awareness and concern inside the USA about ABI amongst military personnel (see, e.g. Okie, 2005), with ABI rates reported to exceed onefifth of combatants (Okie, 2005; Terrio et al., 2009). While this article will focus on present UK policy and practice, the problems which it highlights are relevant to a lot of national contexts.Acquired Brain Injury, Social Work and PersonalisationIf the causes of ABI are wide-ranging and unevenly distributed across age and gender, the impacts of ABI are similarly diverse. A lot of people make a superb recovery from their brain injury, whilst others are left with considerable ongoing issues. Furthermore, as Headway (2014b) cautions, the `initial diagnosis of severity of injury just isn’t a reputable indicator of long-term problems’. The possible impacts of ABI are nicely described both in (non-social operate) academic KOS 862 custom synthesis literature (e.g. Fleminger and Ponsford, 2005) and in individual accounts (e.g. Crimmins, 2001; Perry, 1986). On the other hand, given the limited consideration to ABI in social JNJ-42756493 custom synthesis function literature, it is worth 10508619.2011.638589 listing some of the widespread after-effects: physical issues, cognitive difficulties, impairment of executive functioning, changes to a person’s behaviour and adjustments to emotional regulation and `personality’. For a lot of people today with ABI, there will likely be no physical indicators of impairment, but some may perhaps practical experience a array of physical difficulties including `loss of co-ordination, muscle rigidity, paralysis, epilepsy, difficulty in speaking, loss of sight, smell or taste, fatigue, and sexual problems’ (Headway, 2014b), with fatigue and headaches becoming specifically popular after cognitive activity. ABI might also cause cognitive troubles such as difficulties with journal.pone.0169185 memory and lowered speed of information processing by the brain. These physical and cognitive aspects of ABI, while challenging for the person concerned, are reasonably effortless for social workers and other individuals to conceptuali.It really is estimated that greater than a single million adults inside the UK are at the moment living using the long-term consequences of brain injuries (Headway, 2014b). Prices of ABI have increased considerably in current years, with estimated increases over ten years ranging from 33 per cent (Headway, 2014b) to 95 per cent (HSCIC, 2012). This boost is resulting from a number of things including enhanced emergency response following injury (Powell, 2004); a lot more cyclists interacting with heavier traffic flow; increased participation in unsafe sports; and larger numbers of extremely old folks in the population. In line with Good (2014), by far the most popular causes of ABI in the UK are falls (22 ?43 per cent), assaults (30 ?50 per cent) and road site visitors accidents (circa 25 per cent), although the latter category accounts for any disproportionate number of far more serious brain injuries; other causes of ABI involve sports injuries and domestic violence. Brain injury is extra popular amongst guys than ladies and shows peaks at ages fifteen to thirty and more than eighty (Nice, 2014). International data show related patterns. One example is, in the USA, the Centre for Illness Handle estimates that ABI affects 1.7 million Americans each year; youngsters aged from birth to 4, older teenagers and adults aged over sixty-five have the highest rates of ABI, with men a lot more susceptible than girls across all age ranges (CDC, undated, Traumatic Brain Injury within the Usa: Reality Sheet, readily available on-line at www.cdc.gov/ traumaticbraininjury/get_the_facts.html, accessed December 2014). There is certainly also rising awareness and concern inside the USA about ABI amongst military personnel (see, e.g. Okie, 2005), with ABI rates reported to exceed onefifth of combatants (Okie, 2005; Terrio et al., 2009). While this article will focus on current UK policy and practice, the problems which it highlights are relevant to numerous national contexts.Acquired Brain Injury, Social Function and PersonalisationIf the causes of ABI are wide-ranging and unevenly distributed across age and gender, the impacts of ABI are similarly diverse. A number of people make a good recovery from their brain injury, whilst other people are left with substantial ongoing troubles. Additionally, as Headway (2014b) cautions, the `initial diagnosis of severity of injury isn’t a dependable indicator of long-term problems’. The potential impacts of ABI are well described each in (non-social perform) academic literature (e.g. Fleminger and Ponsford, 2005) and in individual accounts (e.g. Crimmins, 2001; Perry, 1986). However, provided the restricted consideration to ABI in social work literature, it can be worth 10508619.2011.638589 listing a number of the common after-effects: physical issues, cognitive troubles, impairment of executive functioning, alterations to a person’s behaviour and changes to emotional regulation and `personality’. For a lot of people with ABI, there are going to be no physical indicators of impairment, but some could practical experience a selection of physical issues including `loss of co-ordination, muscle rigidity, paralysis, epilepsy, difficulty in speaking, loss of sight, smell or taste, fatigue, and sexual problems’ (Headway, 2014b), with fatigue and headaches getting particularly common just after cognitive activity. ABI might also trigger cognitive difficulties such as challenges with journal.pone.0169185 memory and lowered speed of info processing by the brain. These physical and cognitive aspects of ABI, while challenging for the person concerned, are fairly uncomplicated for social workers and others to conceptuali.