Because many teachers have never worked with a student with brain injuries, they are often unfamiliar with the effects of brain injury on school performance. Parents can help by explaining the impact of the injury on the child’s behavior.

• • If the teacher comments that your child seems lazy and unmotivated, you can explain that she has challenges with initiation because of her frontal lobe injury. This may look like willful behavior, but it’s actually a direct result of the injury.

• • If the teacher notes that your child has trouble getting along with others, you can describe how damage to the prefrontal cortex can affect social behavior. This can result in difficulty picking up social cues, short-term memory challenges, social anxiety, and poor judgment. In addition, frontal lobe injury often results in disinhibition and social inappropriateness.

• • When your child has a new teacher, it may be helpful to talk in general terms about learning problems-e.g., short attention span, poor time management, short-term memory challenges, poor organization. All are related to prefrontal cortex injury.