Type of Project: Funded project In-house project Scientific Work
Promoting the inclusion of children, adolescents and young adults with acquired brain injury in school, jobs and social life

Aims of the project: - Health, education and training support to improve the participation of affected persons - Determination of healing and integration courses to optimize the participation processes - Therapeutic and administrative support of affected persons to strengthen school education and increase the chances of training and integration - More precise assessments of prognoses with regard to prospects of training and job: In the case of children and adolescents, the medical-diagnostic recording and assessment of the development and rehabilitation courses are the focus of the project. This is the basis for individualized support and therapy in order to strengthen school-social integration and vocational orientation. In the case of young adults, the development of job prospects is identified and promoted in cooperation with Vocational Training Centres. This also includes the option of in-company qualification and integration. For time and cost reasons, it is not feasible to record the course of illness, recuperation and integration in the aftercare phase on a supraregional basis. The project initially focuses on the prospective recording of the care situation and the individual prognosis of those affected in a metropolitan area. The close connections to the nationally active self-help association "Bundesverband Schädel-Hirnpatienten in Not" (Federal Association of Craniocerebral Patients in Need) have a supporting effect. By determining the degree of performance impairments including psycho-social consequences and the weak points in the treatment and participation process, opportunities for integration and inclusion can be more reliably assessed and individual solutions can be found. Findings from the course of the project so far: Severe brain injuries are serious life interruptions. They can lead to developmental impairments and disorders of attentiveness, memory, learning and language. As a result, participation in society is often severely restricted. Long-term treatment and support measures are the rule. According to the results obtained with more than 50 affected persons, the following obstacles still stand in the way of the participation and inclusion process: - General prejudices and discrimination against people with disabilities - Lack of social recognition of those affected - Insufficient awareness of the concerns and needs of those affected and their families - There is hardly any awareness within society of the dramatic life change and altered living conditions as a result of brain damage - After completion of inpatient rehabilitation, there is a lack of support and assistance services for those affected and their families - Responsibilities of the health and social care structures involved are difficult to define, lack of coordination - The full health development potential of those affected can usually only be inadequately tapped due to limited resources. The optimization and intensification of therapy and support services carried out as part of the project promotes participation processes in the phase of outpatient rehabilitation and aftercare following completion of inpatient treatment. It also aims to reduce barriers that can cause health deterioration and social failure. A long-term offer of services is necessary because the course of treatment and recovery extends over many years due to injury-related disorders of cognitive, motor and social skills. According to the project's findings to date, the process of participation in the various areas of life is made even more difficult by the often lifelong financial losses of those affected, which are not compensated for by social security systems, or only to a limited extent. Since children and adolescents are not entitled to statutory pension insurance benefits before completing their vocational training, the only way to cover gaps in provision is through private provision. Further development of counseling and therapy design: The results achieved so far enable the further development of a specific range of support services in aftercare. Because of the obstacles to participation processes that have been identified, individually oriented support and therapy concepts can only be implemented gradually. The improvement of the recovery and participation process in the course of school education is an essential prerequisite for enabling in-company vocational training or entry into a vocational training center. Special qualification measures and therapeutic offers of the vocational training centers seem to be particularly suitable to enable trainees with disabilities and low previous school education to successfully complete their training with the earliest possible integration into working life despite difficult starting conditions. By further developing project-related services of support, counselling and therapy, the aim is to enable a higher number of young people than in the current situation to achieve the ability to undergo training and complete training despite the serious consequences of their disabilities. In this way, efforts should be made to reduce the high proportion of those affected who are permanently incapacitated. To improve the promotion of participation, extended networking is necessary to optimize measures for achieving recovery and participation on the basis of the healing and integration processes. Through network formation, resources can be optimally utilized and individual development potential can be better tapped. The aim is to achieve a sustainable improvement in the framework conditions for school-job integration and to reduce individual disadvantages. This is linked to the establishment of support chains that coordinate the activities of different supporters and enable a centralization of the counseling and support system.