Recommended Reading Material
Publications: Many books and Web sites intended for head injury are now available. Unfortunately, most of them are not prepared by head injury experts, and the information and suggestions they offer are of uneven quality. Recently, American science completed the "decade of the brain," which has provided many important revisions in our understanding of how injuries and recovery work. The following books carry our highest recommendation for survivors and family members.
Schutz, L. E. (2007). Closed head injury as a network disorder. In V. Plishe (Ed.), Focus on cognition disorder research. Hauppauge, NY: Nova Science Publishers, Inc.
Schutz, L. E. (2007). Models of exceptional adaptation in recovery after traumatic brain injury: A case series. Journal of Head Trauma Rehabilitation, 22 (1), 48-55.
Head Injury: The Facts (second edition, 1999) by Dorothy Cronwall, Ph.D., Phillip Wrightson, Ph.D. and Peter Waddell, Ph.D. Published by Oxford University Press. Written by top experts, easy to read, a good place to start learning the basics about head injuries.
Over My Head (1998) by Claudia Osborne, M..D. Published by Andrews McNeel. This is a wonderfully candid autobiography by a physician who suffered a head injury, received extensive cognitive rehab in one of America's top programs, and tells us how it all worked out.
Pamphlet series on head injury issues ("Working After Brain Injury," 1996; "Coming Home," 1996; "An Educational Challenge," 1996; "Educating Families," 1991) by Dana DeBoskey, Ph.D. Published by HDI Publishers. Easy to read, mostly solid information, the cartoons are the best part.
Head Injury Recovery in Real Life (TBA) by Larry Schutz, Ph.D. and Michael Schutz, B.S. In submission to Oxford University Press. A plain-language explanation of how recovery works, and autobiographical stories of 14 of the best recoveries on record–a springboard for GiveBack.
Pediatric Head Trauma Guide for Families (1987) by Ann Deaton, Ph.D. Published by Cumberland. A top expert in child neurorehabilitation explains brain injury issues for children in the hospital, at home, and at school. Articles and papers distributed by the Brain Injury Association of America (see links).
Stroke: A Guide for Patients and Their Families (1979) by John Sarno, M.D. and Martha Sarno, M.A. Published by McGraw-Hill. Top experts provide comprehensive explanations. Also may be helpful if you have a contusion, penetrating injury, or gunshot wound.
Control Your Depression (1986) by Peter Lewinsohn, Ph.D. and associates. Published by Simon & Schuster. This self-help book, written by a top depression expert, is a bit complicated, but it explains powerful self-help techniques that reduce depression.
Coping With Stress (1983) by Donald Menchenbaum, Ph.D. Published by Facts on File, Inc. This guy is a genius, explains things very clearly, and has some funny cartoons.
Brain Injury Rehabilitation: An Overview (2nd edition) (1999) by W.H. Burke, M. Guth, R. Guare, & M.D. Weslowski. Houston, TX: HDI Publishers.
Professional-level readings and books:
Jennett, B., & Teasdale, G. (1981). Management of Head Injuries. Philadelphia: F.A. Davis Company. This is the first and most important book about how head injuries happen and how they affect the brain. It is highly medical and has relatively little to say about long-term recovery.
Boll, T. J. (1982). Behavioral sequelae of head injury. In P. Cooper (Ed.), Head Injury. Baltimore, MD: Williams and Wilkins. This overview of the cognitive and behavioral effects of injury is relatively easy to read.
Lezak, M. D., Howieson, D. B., & Loring, D. W. (2004). Neuropsychological Assessment, 4th edn. New York: Oxford University Press. Muriel Lezak was the first expert who explained how long-lasting the disability of TBI is, and how hard it is on the family. This very expensive book provides an in-depth overview of TBI.
Goldberg, E. (2001). The Executive Brain. New York: Oxford University Press. A very readable and insightful book about the frontal lobes and what happens when they are damaged. This is the most important site of impairment after TBI.
Burgess, P. W., & Wood, R. L. (1990). Neuropsychology of behavior disorders following brain injury. In R. L. Wood (Ed.), Neurobehavioral Sequelae of Traumatic Brain Injury. London, UK: Taylor and Francis. Along with another chapter, quite possibly the best explanation of why behavior goes out of control after TBI.
Stuss, D. T., Mateer, C. A., & Sohlberg, M. M. (1994). Innovative approaches to frontal lobe deficits. In M. A. Finlayson, & S. H. Garner (Eds.), Brain Injury Rehabilitation: Clinical Considerations. Baltimore, MD: Williams and Wilkins. This is the other chapter.
Crepeau, F., & Scherzer, P. (1993). Predictors and indicators of work status after traumatic brain injury: a meta-analysis. Neuropsychological Rehabilitation, 3, 5-35. A good explanation about why unemployment is so common after TBI.
Dawson, P. A., & Chapman, M. (1995). The disablement experienced by traumatically brain injured adults living in the community. Brain Injury, 9, 339-353. The social disability produced by TBI is perhaps its most severe consequence.
Lezak, M., & O’Brien, K. P. (1990). Chronic emotional, social and physical changes after traumatic brain injury. In E. D. Bigler (Ed.), Traumatic Brain Injury. Austin, TX: Pro-Ed. Another excellent review of the same issues.
Jacobs, H. E. (1990). Identifying post-traumatic behavior problems: Data from psychosocial follow-up studies. In R. L. Wood (Ed.), Neurobehavioral Sequelae of Traumatic Brain Injury. London, UK: Taylor and Francis. Describes the limits of indepedence achieved by most survivors.
Thomsen, I. V. (1990). Recognizing the development of behavior disorders. In R. L. Wood (Ed.), Neurobehavioral Sequelae of Traumatic Brain Injury. London, UK: Taylor and Francis. A frightening report about how little recovery has taken place 20 years after injury.
Barco, P. P. Crosson, B., Bolesta, M. M., et al. (1991). Training awareness and compensation in postacute head injury rehabilitation. In J. S. Kreutzer, & P. Wehman (Eds.), Cognitive Rehabilitation For Persons With Traumatic Brain Injury. Bisbee, AZ: Imaginart. This article helps to explain that the defect in awareness of deficits is complex, and that recovery requires developing several kinds of new awareness.
Prigatano, G. & Schachter, D. (1991). Awareness of Deficit After Brain Injury. New York: Oxford University Press. This is the best whole book written on this important problem. It is hard to read but worth the effort.
Ben-Yishay, Y., & Gold, J. (1990). Therapeutic milieu approach to cognitive rehabilitation. In R. L. Wood (Ed.), Neurobehavioral Sequelae of Traumatic Brain Injury. London, UK: Taylor and Francis, and…
Ben-Yishay, Y., & Prigatano, G. (1990). Cognitive remediation. In M. Rosenthal, E. R. Griffith, M. R. Bond, & Miller, J. (Eds.), Rehabilitation of the Adult & Child with Traumatic Head Injury (2nd edition). Philadelphia: F. A. Davis Company. These two chapters are the best statements of how the most sophisticated rehabilitation programs we have developed work, and what it is that they and only they can do.
Gordon, W. A., & Hibbard, M. R. (1991). The theory and practice of cognitive remediation. In J. S. Kreutzer, & P. H. Wehman (Eds.), Cognitive Rehabilitation For Persons With Traumatic Brain Injury. Bisbee, AZ: Imaginart. A thoughtful overview of high-technology rehabilitation programming.
Malec, J. (1996). Cognitive rehabilitation. In R. W. Evans (Ed.), Neurology and Trauma. Philadelphia: W. B. Saunders. Perhaps the easiest to read of the high quality overviews of rehabilitation.
Gross, Y., & Schutz, L. (1986). Intervention models in neuropsychology. In B. Uzzell, & Y. Gross (Eds.), Clinical Neuropsychology of Intervention. Boston, MA: Martinus-Nijhoff Publishing. Many reviewers feel this is the best explanation of the options that can be selected to build a treatment plan for rehabilitation.
Prigatano, G. (1999). Principles of Neuropsychological Rehabilitation. New York: Oxford University Press. Full of good information, but written for psychologists.
Sohlberg, M. M., & Mateer, C. (2001). Cognitive Rehabilitation: An Integrative Neuropsychological Approach. New York: The Guilford Press. A thorough review of techniques and the research showing how well they work.
Giles, G. M., & Clark-Wilson, J. (1993). Brain-Injury Rehabilitation: a Neuro-Functional Approach. San Diego, CA: Singular. Excellent compilation of techniques for treating people with very severe injuries.
Wilson, B. A. (1999). Case Studies in Neuropsychological Rehabilitation. New York: Oxford University Press. Easy to read stories about some good recoveries, as well as the limits of recovery when limited strategies are used.
Nimgade, A., & Costello, M. C. (2003). Return to work for a company president with traumatic brain injury. Journal of Head Trauma Rehabilitation, 18(5), 464-467. High-level recovery is possible!
Ylvisaker, M. (1998). Traumatic Brain Injury Rehabilitation: Children and Adolescents. Boston, MA: Butterworth-Heinemann. Best book on treatment methods for younger survivors.