How TBI Graphing Can Help

TBI graphing (as seen in Whitman’s case) may provide an opportunity to collectively observe injury and sequelae type and timing, which may highlight trends, impactfulness and progressions. These visual clues may assist sufferers by providing more in-depth knowledge/analysis to help make decisions, advocate for rehabilitation and utilize forensics if they find themselves facing the criminal justice system. 

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Rehabilitation

Repeated mild traumatic brain injury (rmTBI) causes significant harm/loss in the lives of many sufferers and communities worldwide, yet the use of rehabilitation intervention is rare for this group. With the ability to make complex TBI relational markers visible, the use of TBI graphing may be a useful tool in expanding/focusing the role of rehabilitation for these sufferers by demonstrating need, assisting in integrated multidisciplinary plan development, monitoring impact and providing a possible warning of harmful sequelae progression and/or degenerative conditions to aid in intervention.

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Criminal Justice Forensics

TBIs can result in behavioral changes that put the sufferer at greater risk of breaking the law at some point. TBI graphing may help visually demonstrate the role of injury in their actions for court proceedings and serve as an indicator for the need of rehabilitation intervention while incarcerated. 

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TBI Graphing in the Future

At present, creating personal TBI graphs is very time comsuming and demanding. As technology develops, however, the process may be simplified with various tools and strategies. Theoretically, TBI graphing could eventually be used to monitor TBI at-risk individuals (e.g., military personnel, certain athletes, inmates, domestic violence victims and perpetrators, child abuse victims, etc.) to open more doors for observation, rehabilitation and violence prevention.