Resumen de Implementing environmental enrichment strategies to help children who have sustained a moderate or severe traumatic brain injury.
Every year in the UK, a significant number of children sustain a moderate or severe traumatic brain injury (TBI). Children who sustain a moderate or severe TBI have been shown to experience continuing neurological decline in two or more domains up to five years post‐injury. Environmental enrichment (EE)—which involves supplementing an environment with appropriately reinforced and rewarded, frequently changing, novel experiences—has been shown to effectively improve social and cognitive functioning in animals with experimental TBI. A growing body of evidence shows EE is also beneficial in the recovery of humans following a TBI. Children who have sustained a moderate or severe TBI often return to school and the educational setting is well‐suited for the implementation of EE interventions during the later stages of TBI recovery. This paper reviews a variety of factors pertinent to moderate and severe TBI, neurorehabilitation and EE. It also offers EE considerations for educational professionals who are involved in the development and implementation of school‐based interventions for children who have sustained a significant brain injury.
