Why is There a Need for This Service?

“The child’s return to school is not the end point of rehabilitation.  Rather school is an extension of the rehabilitation process begun in the hospital…” (Larkin, 1992)

“Ultimately, schools end up being the largest provider of services to children with brain injuries.” (Savage, 1988; Ylvisaker, 1991)

It is widely accepted that young people will have changing and developing needs resulting from such an injury for the remainder of their development and, therefore, will require ongoing 'rehabilitation'. It is also accepted that (apart from their families) the largest proportion of this input for the majority of these young people comes from their schools.

For adults there is an accepted need for vocational rehabilitation (rehabilitation back to work), whereas for young people there is a need for both educational rehabilitation (rehabilitation back to school) and also, as a result of their ongoing and significantly changing pattern of needs, education as rehabilitation over the longer term.

As school is such a fundamental and central part of their life, being the very hub of their cognitive, social and educational development, it makes sense to make a functional educational setting the context for their rehabilitation.

Parents frequently remain unsupported in their attempts to assist their children and schools also lack information, awareness and resources. Many young people experience failure, disaffection and underperformance in school. Many leave school with a significantly compromised ability to obtain or to sustain employment. In future adulthood a disproportionate number present with mental health problems or enter the criminal justice system. Research shows that approximately 64% of the young male adult prison population has suffered a traumatic brain injury There is an increasing body of research literature to provide further evidence of the long term complex needs of these young people and the poor future outcomes when these needs are not appropriately met.

Despite an increasing awareness of specific types of special educational needs and the existence of specialist schools and units to address a range of learning difficulties, until now there have been no specialist schools for children and young people with acquired brain injuries in the U.K. Staff members in existing schools report that they lack expertise regarding the educational needs of these children.

Following specialist placements at The Trust Centre, there is a need for the base schools to receive ongoing support and advice. An important and integral part of the service is transition and ongoing outreach support and facilities for school staff, support workers and parents to work with their child in the specialist placement for a short time prior to their transfer back to the local community.

The Trust Centre offers an opportunity unique in the UK for a young person to benefit from being able to access rehabilitation within a full time educational setting, integrating the care and therapeutic aspects of their placement within the functional educational context.