Advice and Guidance You Can Trust
When a child sustains a childhood-acquired brain injury, knowing where to turn for clear, reliable advice can make all the difference. Our advice and guidance focus on early intervention, helping families understand what to expect and reducing the risk of longer-term challenges by putting the right support in place as early as possible.
Through our flexible virtual support offer, families can access a wide range of tailored services, practical pathways, and interactive support from the Child Brain Injury Trust. From navigating the early days to planning next steps, our ABI Coordinators are here to listen, guide, and help you access the support that is right for your family.
First steps to assess your needs
Taking the first steps to accessing support that's right for you. Our family support services are here for advice and guidance you can trust.
Understanding what your family needs. We begin with a friendly conversation, taking the time to listen and understand your family’s non-clinical, non-medical support needs. Together, we explore what’s most important to you right now and help you decide what to focus. This can include support with:
- Financial concerns and entitlements
- Practical, day-to-day help at home or in the community
- Connecting you with other services that can help
- Help you understand more about ABI
- Looking at what matters most to you at that time
- Connecting you with your local community events and activities
Our aim is to offer clear guidance, practical help, and genuine reassurance, so you feel heard, supported, and confident as you take the next steps forward, knowing you’re not doing this alone.
Personal Guidance and Emotional Support
We are able to offer individualised support from our experienced team who help families understand life after ABI. Through telephone, video or virtual support, we help families to prioritise what matters most and across areas such as Sometimes reassurance and talking to someone that truly understand can make all the difference. Sometimes just talking to someone who truly understands can make all the difference.
Families are guided through early intervention, normalising experiences, structuring support, and connecting to specialist services where needed. Additional resources include our Information Pack, individual leaflets, All About Me folder, and the ‘Understanding and Managing’ e-learning series. Families can also access our private, moderated Facebook support group to connect with other parents and carers, share experiences, or simply feel less alone.
Explore our virtual and postal resources, connect with others or find out more about looking after you.
Practical, Financial, and Home Advice
We provide practical solutions to reduce everyday pressures and help families feel secure at home and financially supported.
Benefits Advice Reviews – In partnership with Chase De Vere, specialist welfare advisers help families understand entitlements, review current benefits, and provide tailored guidance on next steps, ensuring no one misses out on the support they are eligible for.
Funding Applications – Our ABI Coordinators work with families and professionals to identify funding opportunities for family activities or additional therapies beyond NHS provision.
Property Advice – In partnership with PLG Consultants, we help families create safe, accessible homes. Guidance includes tenancy agreements, adaptive living spaces, bathrooms and bedrooms, temporary and permanent adaptations (such as ramps), specialist equipment suppliers, and signposting to trusted agencies.
All services are accessible via referral from an ABI Coordinator and are provided free to families supported by the Child Brain Injury Trust.
Support for Children and Young People
We provide age-appropriate resources and guidance to help children and young people understand their childhood-acquired brain injury, build confidence, and develop strategies for daily life. Resources include My Best Friend Buddy, All About My Brain, Caolan’s Book, and ABI Alert Cards. Materials are designed to be taken in small, manageable sections, and we signpost to specialist services when needed.
Our ABI Coordinators also provide practical support to ensure children and young people can thrive, including emotional guidance and tools to manage challenges at home and in daily life.
Education Support
Returning to education after an acquired brain injury can sometimes feel daunting.
We provide empowering resources and guidance to support a positive learning environment by equipping professionals with the knowledge and information to support children with an acquired brain injury.
We support parents and carers with discussing educational options and where to find the best educational support for your child or young person.
Support for Siblings
Having a brother or sister with a childhood-acquired brain injury can be challenging for siblings, and they often need guidance and reassurance of their own. Our resources and support are designed to help siblings understand the changes in their family, build resilience, and feel included in the journey.
Resources for siblings include:
Sibling Packs – Practical strategies and guidance to help them cope.
Books and Audio Resources – Shape Shifters, Rearrange (also available as an audio book), and the Zero to Hero sibling novel.
E-Learning and Guidance – Pre-recorded e-learning sessions for parents to support siblings, and the You’re Not the Only One booklet.
Connection and Signposting – Guidance to other trusted organisations where siblings can access further support.
Our aim is to ensure siblings feel heard, supported, and confident as part of the family’s journey, helping them navigate their unique experience while fostering understanding and resilience.
Family, Community, and Ongoing Support
Our support extends to the wider family and the networks around them. Parents and carers can access guidance, reassurance, and connect with peers through online communities. Siblings are supported with resources and guidance to help them navigate the changes in their family.
When additional or specialist support is required, our team can signpost families to trusted local organisations and national services, helping them navigate a complex landscape of information and care. This ensures families always have the guidance and support they need, when they need it.
Specialist Legal Support
A brain injury affects the whole family, and getting independent legal advice can be vital. We guide families to expert legal professionals who understand childhood-acquired brain injury and know how to secure the best outcomes for a child’s rehabilitation.
ABI Coordinators can provide information or signpost families to legal support teams, ensuring parents and carers can access advice when they feel ready to have these conversations.
Referral process
Referring a child or young person to the Child Brain Injury Trust is straightforward and supportive. Our referral process is designed to make sure families affected by acquired brain injury are guided to the right help at the right time, with compassion, clarity, and care.
Whether you’re a professional or a family member, we’ll work alongside you to understand the child’s needs and connect them with tailored support.
For full details on how the process works, what information is needed, and what happens next, please click the button below.
Your Donation Changes Lives
Acquired brain injury can happen to any child, at any moment, and when it does, it changes everything for the whole family.
The Child Brain Injury Trust is here to make sure no child or family faces the journey of acquired brain injury alone.