Untangling the jargon

Acquired Brain Injury – An injury to the brain that has happened AFTER birth – i.e. after a period of NORMAL development

Acute – Develops suddenly and often of short duration

Audiologist – Someone who tests your hearing

Care Plan – Identifies the care your child will need and who will be providing it

Clinic Letter – A letter resulting from a hospital appointment

Clinical Psychologist – Someone who works within the health service and has studied thinking, behaviour and emotions. He/she works with individuals and families to help them to cope better

Cognition – The mental process involved in thinking, perceiving, intelligence, understanding, reasoning, judging and remembering

Concussion – Immediate and temporary loss of brain functioning resulting from a head injury, and often accompanied by sickness or nausea, headaches and double vision (see separate Factsheet on Concussion)

Contusion – Bruising on the brain

CT Scan – ‘Computerised Tomography’ scan,  a series of x-rays which show pictures of the skull and the brain from different angles

Discharge – Official permission to leave hospital, usually granted by the clinical team looking after the child or young person, in consultation with the discharge planning team  or MDT(Multi-Disciplinary Team)

Educational Psychologist – Works within the school/education system and will organise additional support for children at school if it is needed

Focal  Damage – An injury to one specific area of the brain, as against a DIFFUSE INJURY which affects several areas of the brain

Glasgow Coma Scale (or ‘GCS’) – Scale used to assess level of consciousness after head injury. Lower scores indicate more time spent in an unconscious state

Haematoma – An accumulation of blood within the tissues which clots and forms a swelling

Haemorrhage – Bleeding

HDU – High Dependency Unit

MRI Scan – ‘Magnetic Resonance Imaging’, a scan used to get a better picture of the brain using a magnetic field

Multidisciplinary – Where professionals of many disciplines or specialities are involved; often shortened to MDT

Named Nurse – A nurse that is allocated to your child

Neurologist – A doctor dealing with the brain and the nervous system, but not a surgeon

Neuropsychologist – A specialist Clinical Psychologist (see above) who looks at what the brain can and cannot do,  e.g. memory, visual perception, reasoning, attention and speech, and uses this information to help to understand a child’s behaviour, thinking and emotional difficulties

Neurosurgeon – A brain surgeon

Neurosurgery – Operations on the brain

Occupational Therapist – Provides on-going assessments and advice regarding the skills and dexterity to be as independent as possible, both at home and at school.  Can give advice on therapeutic programmes, specialised equipment and adaptations to support learning and development

Ophthalmologist – A doctor who deals with eyes

Orthopaedics – Treatment of bones

Paediatricians – Doctors who specialise in the care of children

Paediatric Neurologist – A paediatrician with extra training in neurology

Physician – A doctor who is not a surgeon

Physiotherapist – Provides advice and treatment for children with physical difficulties to help them to achieve independence

Planning Meeting – A meeting held at the hospital before your child is discharged in order to plan the services and support that will be required.  Everyone who will be involved or working with your child should be invited to this meeting

Post-Concussion Syndrome = Can happen in the weeks or months after a mild or minor head injury.  Symptoms can include headaches, dizziness, poor concentration, memory problems, speaking or listening difficulties, emotional and behavioural problems (see also Factsheet on Concussion)

Post Traumatic Amnesia – Shortened to PTA, this term refers to the length of time someone is disorientated or confused directly after an injury

Radiography – Using techniques involving radiation (such as x-rays) to build up pictures of the body

Speech and Language Therapist – Assesses speech and understanding of language and communication and may be involved early on with swallowing and feeding difficulties