caregiver tip - Traumatic Brain Injury Council

Motor coordination—it’s harder than you think!
Try this exercise to get a feel for how hard everyday movements can be for
a person with a brain injury.
• Slightly lift your right foot off the floor.
• Begin circling your right foot clockwise.
• While continuing to circle your foot, try to write your whole name.
If you thought that was difficult, imagine how frustrated you would
be if every task, all day long, was this hard to complete.
A person who has
seizures may have
an attack at any
time.
SEIZURES
Only a few people with TBI will have a seizure. It is important to know
what to do in case it happens.
Seizures, sometimes called convulsions, are when a person’s body shakes in
a rapid, out-of-control way. During a seizure, the person may lose
consciousness and may fall down.
A person who has seizures may have an attack at any time. Seizures of all
types are caused by sudden, disorganized electrical activity in the brain.
In spite of their appearance, most seizures are relatively harmless. Usually,
they last from 30 seconds to two minutes.
Treat it as a medical emergency if a seizure lasts much longer than two
minutes or if there are multiple seizures and the person does not wake up in
between. In these situations, call 911 or get other emergency assistance.
M ODULE 3
PAGE 22
HOW TO HELP
• Turn the person on his or her side, and remove any hard or sharp
objects from the area.
• Loosen restrictive clothing, such as a collar or belt.
• Place something soft and flat under the person’s head.
• Never force anything into the person’s mouth, especially your
fingers.
• Ask onlookers to leave the area.
• Call 911 if the seizure lasts more than two minutes, if there have
been multiple seizures, or you suspect the person has swallowed his
or her own vomit.