Early Intervention
Our Early Intervention Service works in partnership with hospitals and clinical teams across the UK. Our Acquired Brain Injury (ABI) Coordinators work with families at the very start of their journey by providing non-medical advice, information and support.
We know that this can be a particularly challenging and emotional time for families. By being a source of knowledge and support at this stage, our Early Intervention Team help to ‘bridge the gap’ between hospital and home.
What is Childhood Acquired Brain Injury?
An acquired brain injury (ABI) is any injury to the brain that happens after birth. It can be caused by an accident, illness, infection, stroke, lack of oxygen, or medical complications, and it often occurs suddenly, without warning. For a child and their family, life can change in an instant, bringing uncertainty, fear and many unanswered questions.
Every childhood-acquired brain injury is different, and its effects are not always immediately visible. An ABI can affect how a child thinks, learns, behaves, communicates and manages their emotions, with challenges sometimes emerging months or even years later as the child grows. With the right understanding, support and time, children and families can adapt, rebuild confidence and find new ways forward.
What services can we offer?
Our Early Intervention Team offers non-medical advice and support in the earlier stages of a family’s journey. This support can include the following:
Emotional and practical support
Access to counselling
Support for siblings
Access to grants and funding
Support with school reintegration
Provision of information and factsheets
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.
Our Brain Injury Team
Our team provide practical guidance and emotional support to families, working across the UK, we help families make sense of complex systems, access the right services, and help them to feel more confident about what comes next.
We work in partnership with many Major Trauma Centres and hospitals across the UK where our team offers early intervention support as well as flexible virtual and community-based services ensuring families can access our support no matter where they live or which stage of their injury journey they are at.
Our team are here to make the path ahead feel more manageable, empowering you to feel supported and connected along the way.
Legal Support and Advice
When a child suffers a brain injury, we can’t emphasise enough how important it is that families seek advice from law firms that truly understand the impact this has on the child and how life will change for the whole family.
The Child Brain Injury Trust has created a network of regional partnerships to ensure that the children, young people and families that we work with get the right legal support as soon as possible.
This can cover a wide range of topics, from assisting with pursuing a claim for welfare benefits or compensation, to understanding what your employment rights are if you need to take time off work to care for your child.