Children with TBITeachers and staff need a knowledge and understanding of brain injury and what modifications kids with a brain injury may need in order to help their students most effectively.
See more video clips with Dr. Ann Glang.
[Dr. Ann Glang] The main thing schools need to do to prepare for working with children with brain injury is make sure staff have a knowledge and understanding of the disability and what needs to be modified to work with these kids. That's just not happening, so couple of data points. We did a survey a couple of years back of teachers who are working with kids with brain injury in their classrooms right now—85% of them said they had no training in TBI. Just recently, within the last few months, we did a look at special education textbooks that are used in universities across the country—the most frequently used textbooks in U.S. teacher preparation programs. One in ten had a chapter on brain injury. It's still quite off the radar in terms of higher education and in terms of training teachers. It's no wonder that teachers don't feel prepared when they come into the classroom.
Posted on BrainLine August 12, 2013.
About the author: Ann Glang, PhD
Ann Glang, PhD is a research professor and co-director of the Center on Brain Injury Research and Training (CBIRT), a center under the office of Research, Innovation and Graduate Education (RIGE) at the University of Oregon.
Produced by Noel Gunther, Justin Rhodes, and Erica Queen, BrainLine.