allowances
Maybe you get away with things that you would have not have got away with before...

ambulance
An ambulance is a special vehicle that contains lots of life saving equipment that the paramedics and ambulance technicians use to keep you alive while they take you to hospital. They also have blue flashing lights and a loud siren to tell the traffic to move out of the way.

Ambulance Technicians
Ambulance Technicians have a similar job to Paramedics but without so many emergency clinical skills. Ambulance technicians know all about the medical equipment and help the Paramedics out.

anti-depressants
Anti-depressants are a type of medication which helps stimulate the 'happy chemicals' in the brain. It's very complicated and they aren't the right thing for everyone. Doctors only prescribe anti-depressants if they really think you need them.

anti-epileptics
Special medicine that you take to stop you from having a seizure if you are epileptic.

Ataxia
This is when the brain is having problems contolling your muscles. Maybe you are wobbly on your legs?

bacteria
A little bug that if it gets inside the human body causes us to get sick!

being bullied
This is different to being treated differently because people mean you harm or want to upset you.

Binge drinking
Drinking lots of alcohol, one drink after another! Lots of teenagers do this on Friday and Saturday night and it is really bad for you.

bisexual
Someone who fancies both sexes, men and women.

blame
When things go wrong, having someone to blame can make the person doing the blaming better! It's called 'scapegoating' and we all do it from time to time.

bleed
This is when blood leaks out of a cut.

blood pressure
This tells the doctors and nurses how hard the heart is working to get the blood around the body. It can also help the doctors and nurses to tell how sick you are and if your brain is getting enough blood and oxygen.

brain
The brain is an organ in our skull and controls everything we do with our body. It is where we keep our personality and learn things.

brain cells
Called 'neurons'. They are like the little micro-chips that keep a computer running. Neurons keep our brain working.

Brain tumour
Sometimes neurons go wrong and they can develop the wrong way. When this happens to lots of neurons in a small area we call it a brain tumour.

breathing machine
The 'ventilator' is sometimes called a breathing machine so that you know what it does!

bruise
When you hurt yourself, some of the tiny blood vessels in the skin can get damaged and show up as a dark bruise. The bruise goes away with time!

caffeine
Caffeine is a chemical that stimulates the brain. You find it in tea, coffee and chocolate.

celebrity
You can feel famous! Everyone in your school knows your name and everyone looks at you!

celebrity attention
Sometimes being known by eveybody can be really hard. Some days you just want to be left alone and on other days you might really like the extra attention.

centre of attention
Everybody is looking at you and talking to you. It can make you feel like you are the only person in the world who matters!

cerebellum
The cerebellum sits at the back of the brain and controls your balance. This allows you to stand up, walk in straight lines and know if you are standing up or sitting down.

cerebro spinal fluid
This is made inside the brain and protects it a bit like a shock absorber. It also keeps the brain healthy and removes waste from the brain cells.

check-up scans
Every so often you might need to go back to hospital and have a scan to check things are still okay. This is very routine and nothing to worry about.

Childrens Ward
A special ward in a hospital where sick children go to be looked after by specially trained doctors and nurses.

chocolate
Chocolate can be very high in sugar and has caffeine in it too!

circumstances
How you got your ABI and how it has affected you and your family.

classroom assistant
When you get back to school there maybe someone who will sit with you and help you when you get stuck.

college
School for adults!

Computerised Tomography
CT Scan; Special X-rays that are looked at by a computer to give very impressive images of what is happening inside the body.

concentrate
Focus on one thing.

conflicting feelings
It can be hard to admit you are gay if you have always been told that being gay is wrong. There can be lots of different reasons for why you might have been told this.

Consultant Intensivists
Senior doctors who know lot's about looking after poorly brains and very sick children.

contraception
Condoms can prevent you from getting pregnant and also prevents the spread of sexually transmitted infections. There are other methods of contraception that you could ask you school nurse or doctor about.

convulsion
A seizure.

co-ordinate
Move your muscles effectively.

co-ordination
Controlling your body in a purposeful way like walking, running or dancing.

crime
Drugs can be expensive and people might turn to crime to fund their habit; drug pushing, robbery, mugging.

critically ill
This is very very sick. If you wasn't in hospital you would die.

curious
Curious means having lots of different questions. Some questions can be really silly, other questions can be really personal and sometimes it can be hard for someone who is curious about you not to ask you lots of questions all the time! This can drive you nuts!

death
It's hard to know what is in the drugs you can buy off the street. Some might contain rat poison which could kill you. It's hard to know how 'pure' the drug is too so you could die from an overdose or end up brain damaged.

depressed
Feeling very sad and low. Depressed people can find it hard to do anything like sleep, eat or even get up in the morning.

diagnosed
When the doctors decide what is wrong and tell you what the problem is.

different types of bullying
There are many types of bullying; physical abuse, emotional abuse, psychological abuse, mobile phone abuse on a text message or voicemail, nasty email.

difficult to remember
Memory problems that can be long term or short term.

direct questions
Sometimes asking what you want to ask may upset other people. Direct questions are okay if you know the person very well but if you don't, asking direct questions could be considered rude.

discrimination
This when someone is kept down (oppressed) by another person or group. Another way to look at it is to see a prejudice being acted out for example, racism, homophobia, sexism.

disinhibition
Doing or saying things on impulse which might upset someone or get you into trouble.

Drug addiction
Using recreational drugs runs the risk of getting addicted. This can be a terrible thing and can ruin peoples lives.

educated guess
You can think about other experiences you have had and decide if this new situation is similar. You can then decide what you want to do.

educational psychologist
Educational psychologists understand how we learn new things. They will be abe to help you find the best way to re-learn old things and learn new things.

electrolyte imbalance
There are lots of different chemicals and minerals in the blood stream that keep all of the cells in the body ticking over. If you have too many or not enough, you can run into problems. They keep a close eye on these electrolytes by taking blood. You might hear them talk about 'Sodium', 'Calcium', & 'Potassium'. All have a very important role to play in the body.

embarrased
This can make you feel really awkward around people. You might just want the ground to open up and swallow you!

emotional and sexual responsibility
Being mature enough to cope with the things that having sex can cause you to think about or deal with.

Encephalitis
An infection of the brain.

Endorphines
Natural pain killers that are in the body.

epilepsy
A medical condition which means you have seizures quite often. These can be big seizures that are really noticeable or little ones that are hard to notice.

ET tube
Endo-tracheal tube: A special tube that the doctors put in your nose or mouth to keep your airway clear so you can breath on the ventilator.

fatigue
Feeling really tired all the time.

finding a solution
Looking at our problems all of the time can make it hard to think of the answers!

fit
A seizure.

flashbacks
Flashbacks are frightening memories which seem to pop out of nowhere and can make you feel really scared. Not everyone gets flashbacks but some people do. It gets easier over time.

fracture a bone
A broken bone. Any broken bone is called a fracture.

fractured
Broken.

frontal lobe
This is where we control our body movement and is how we express ourselves physically. This part of the brain allows us to speak. Our personality also grows and develops here. It is also where we solve problems and do most of our learning. It allows us to organise and plan.

Frontal lobe
This is where we control our body movements and how we express ourselves. This part of our brain allows us to speak. Over personality also grows and develops here. It is also where we solve problems and do most of our learning. It allows us to organise and plan.

gay
Homosexual: men who fancy men and women who fancy women.

GCSE\'s
General Certificate of Secondary Education.

general anaesthetic
This is one of the medicines that doctors can use to keep you unconscious. They also use it when you have an operation so that you won't be in pain and won't remember anything.

genitals
Your private parts.

getting pregnant
Conceiving a baby from having sex.

head injury
Any injury to to the head or face.

Headaches
A pain in the head which can very upsetting and distract you from doing the things you need to do.

helmet
A hard hat to prevent you from hurting your head if you fall over or fall off your bike.

heterosexual
Straight people: Men who fancy women and women who fancy men.

HIV
Human Immunodeficiency Virus - The virus which if left untreated with complex drugs can turn in AIDS which is life threatening.

homosexual
Gay men and lesbian: Men who fancy men and women who fancy women.

how people will react
Some people don't like gay men and lesbians and can be abusive or not very nice to them. Some people think being gay is wrong and this can make it hard to admit you are gay.

hypothalamus
See the brain diagram.

Hypoxic injury
This is when some of the brain cells don't recieve as much oxygen as they need and this can cause them an injury.

ICP
Inter Cranial Pressure: this is the pressure inside the skull. It can tell the doctors and nurses how squashed the brain is and to see if it is getting enough oxygen.

illness
Getting so sick the brain gets damaged. There can be lots of reasons; infection, blood flow problems called vascular anomalies or even a brain tumour.

independence
The ability to do things by yourself with very little help from anyone else.

informed decision
Having enough information about something to decide if you think it is a good idea to do or not.

inhibition
Thinking about something before you do it.

initiative
The ability to do something constructive with self-conifdence.

Intensive Care Unit
A special department in a hospital where very sick people go to be very well looked after and monitored.

jealous
This is when someone wants what you have! In this case it is the 'attention' you get off other people.

junk food
Junk food is all of those things we all like to eat but the truth is they just aren't very good for us! Beefburgers from fast food restaurants, ice cream, chips, sweets, brightly coloured foods with E numbers in! There are lots and lots! You are much better eating fruit and vegetables! Junk food is okay every so often as a treat.

kept unconscious
This is when the doctors intentionally keep you unconscious using medicine so that you won't be in pain or be upset.

keyworker
Keyworkers help people who have special problems and can help them with all sorts of things!

kidneys
You have two kidneys and they clean the blood of urea that you turn into urine and pee out when you go to the toliet. If your kidneys aren't working properly, urea and waste products can build up and cause other problems in the body.

legal age
A legal age is an age that the government have agreed to you doing different things. At 16 you can have sex, at 18 you can learn to drive for example.

lesbian
Gay women; women who fancy women.

liver
The liver is like a big power station as it does nearly 500 different things in the body! If the liver is not working properly, other things in the body can be affected.

loosing interest
Once everybody has asked all of their questions they might run out of things to say to you.

lump
Sometimes people call a brain tumour a 'lump'.

Magnetic Resonance Imaging
MRI Scan: Special X-rays that give very impressive images of what is happening inside the body.

masterbating
Playing with your private parts when you feel horny. This is perfectly okay to do on your own in private.

medication
Doctors give you medication to take to help with a problem or symptom. There are lots of different medications; sedatives, pain killers, anti-epileptics and lots lots more!

memory
The part of our brain that stores all of the things we know!

Meningitis
An infection of the outer layer of the brain called the meninges.

metabolic disorder
This is problem which affects the production of energy within individual cells. Most metabolic disorders are genetic, though a few are "acquired" as a result of diet, toxins, infections, etc. It's very complicated! Ask a doctor if you have one and want to know more!

migraines
Migraines are very bad headaches! They are much worse than a normal headache because they can make you feel very sick. A migraine can also make it hard for you to look at lights or get out of bed.

mixed feelings
Sometimes you can experience two emotions at the same time: maybe you are happy but scared too. Maybe you are happy to be out of hospital but sad to see your new friends and the nurses go. This is perfectly normal and people have mixed emotions throughout their life!

mutate
This is when neurons grow the wrong way or change. If too many mutate it can cause a brain tumour.

nasty side effects
Drinking alcohol when taking antibiotics can make you feel very sick!

nightmares
Nightmares are very bad dreams that can sometimes feel very real. You can wake up thinking you are back in intensive care again. Not everyone has nightmares but most people will have a nightmare about something at some stage of their life.

non-serious
This means that you aren/'t in any great danger and the doctors and nurses aren't too worried about you!

non-traumatic brain injury
This means that the brain has been damaged by an illness.

no-ones fault
It's just one of those things! Bad luck! Hard cheese! A pain in the bum! Life can be really unfair sometimes.

occipital lobe
This part of the brain receives messages from the eyes and recognises shapes. This bit of the brain allows you to tell the difference between things like a dog and cat. It also controls your eye movement too.

old knowledge
All the stuff you used to know and remembered well.

operation
Operations to the brain can sometimes cause other problems but try not to worry about this too much!

over-protective
This means that sometimes your parents prevent you from doing things or knowing things because they are worried you might get upset, worry or hurt yourself. Sometimes this is nice but if they do it all the time it can give you a really funny idea about what real life is actually like and it can be shock when you find out what is really going on out there! Some people use the expression 'wrapping you up in cotton wool'.

Over-protective
This means that sometimes your parents prevent you from doing things or knowing things because they are worried you might get upset, worry or hurt yourself. Sometimes this is nice but if they do it all the time it can give you a really funny idea about what real life is actually like and it can be shock when you find out what is really going on out there! Some people use the expression 'wrapping you up in cotton wool'.

Paramedics
Paramedics are specially trained to deal with medical emergencies in the home or at the roadside. They are trained to keep you alive until they can get you to hospital where specially trained doctors and nurses take over.

parietal lobe
This part of the brain gives you a sense of 'me'. It figures out the messages you receive from the five senses of sight, touch, smell hearing and taste. This part of the brain tells you what is part of you and what is part of the outside world.

part-time
When you first go back to school you might only have to do a few hours each day as you learn to adjust to things.

People mean you no harm
Most people do not wish any harm on another.

personality to change
Hurting the frontal or temporal lobe in the brain can often cause personality changes. These can be really small or really obvious.

photophobia
A sensitivity to lights - bright lights hurt your eyes. (It is nothing to do with not liking your picture being taken. That's called being camera shy!)

physiotherapists
Physiotherapists know all about how the muscles work and they help you with special exercises to get your strength back. In intensive care, physiotherapists help the nurses keep your chest clear of infection.

Physiotherapy
Special exercises you can do to strengthen muscles you are having problems with. Physiotherapy can help with lots of different problems and a Physiotherapist will show you what exercises are best for you.

PICU
Paediatric Intensive Care Unit - A special intensive care department that specialises in looking after very sick children and young people.

pituatry gland
A small gland that sits underneath the hypothalamus of the brain. It controls different hormones in the body including thirst.

pulse
This is how fast your heart is beating. It can help the doctors and nurses to tell how poorly you are.

radiographer
A radiographer takes complicated pictures of inside the body using X-rays.

realistic
Keeping your ideas and expectations to something that you will be able to achieve or do.

rebelling
It sounds more glamourous than it is! All it means is that you are trying different ways to express yourself and find out who you are!

receptive dysphasia
Not being able to understand what words, music or a noise means.

recovery
The time you spend getting over the accident or operation.

Recreational drugs
Drugs that people take to get high or to chill out. These are 'street drugs' and not the kind you get in hospital!

Rehab
Short for 'Rehabilitation'.

rehabilitation
1) A place you go to learn to adjust or get your independence back. 2) The process of getting better.

re-learn
Learn to do the things you used to be able to do but struggle a bit with it now. Things get easier with practice!

re-learning
Getting to know the things you used to before you head injury.

religious and moral beliefs
Some religions have strict ideas on what is right and what is wrong for example, some muslim's and the roman catholic church believe being gay is wrong. You can have moral beliefs without being religious too. This gives you a sense of what is right or wrong.

right or wrong
The difference between what is good or bad, right or wrong.

routine
Routine can be a good thing because it helps you organise things and know what you should be doing. A break from routine is good too though!

safe place
Hospitals have lots of friendly people about who can help you when you get stuck or run into problems. Long term patients and families can get used to this feeling so see hospital as a 'safe place'.

safe sex
Having sex with a condom to prevent you from getting pregnant or getting a sexually transmitted infection.

scanner
A scanner is a very expensive and complicated piece of equipment that takes pictures of inside the body using X-rays. A CT Scanner looks like a giant polo mint. An MRI scanner looks like a white tunnel!

second impact syndrome
Hurting your head badly a second time can sometimes make old brain injuries worse.

seizure
A seizure happens when the electrical signals in the brain go wrong. It can make the body do things like twitch or shake. Sometimes you can loose consciousness too. Seizures can be big or small (subtle).

serious
Serious means that the Doctors and Nurses are worried and will need to take good care of you!

serious infection
Taking intravenous drugs can cause infection. If you share needles with someone, you could contract HIV or a nasty blood infection that could lead to a long stay in hospital or death.

sexual development
This is when your body grows into being an adults body; pubic hair, starting your periods, your boobs developing and penis getting bigger and starting to have wet dreams. You also develop emotionally too so that you can cope as an adult. This is why teenagers can be a bit moody.

sexual health clinic
This is a special clinic that looks after peoples sexual health! You can go there to get checked out and treated if need be.

sexual inhibition
Thinking twice before you act out sexually.

sexuality
Who you are attracted to! Men, women or both!

sexually inappropriate
Acting out any sex act in public or touching someone who doesn't want you to, is always wrong.

sexually transmitted infection
Any infection that is passed on from having sex. There are so many different types.

Sexually Transmitted Infection\'s
Any infection that is passed on from having sex. There are so many different types.

short attention
You can find it hard to concentrate!

short term
The problem won't last a long time but might be a problem for a week or two.

singled out
This is when you are made to stand out in a group of people and be picked on.

skull
The skull gives your head its round shape and protects the brain from the outside world.

skull fracture
A broken skull! The skull has many different bones so skull fractures can sound complicated depending what bone was involved e.g basal skull fracture.

special attention
Sometimes you get more attention than the other kids because your parents and teachers know you might need a bit more help or time with things.

special exercises
Physiotherapy.

specialist hospital
Some hospitals specialise in looking after certain sick people. Great Ormond Street Hospital looks after sick children, especially those children with head injuries.

speech therapist
A speech therapist knows all about how we speak. If you are having problems they may be able to help you out!

spinal cord
The spinal cord runs down your back and takes messages to and from the brain and the body.

Spinal cord injury
Any accident or operaton where the spinal cord is damaged.

stabilise
In medicine this means to make sure the patient can breathe (sometimes with a machine called a 'ventialtor'.) and that they have a good pulse and blood pressure.

stay on intensive care
When you was on intensive care you would have been very sick and you would have had a nurse with you all the time. The ward nurses will check on you regularly to check you are still okay.

strange noises
Lot's of beeping, maybe the sound of rushing air or maybe you heard the doctors and nurses use words you didn't understand.

street names
Recreational drugs that different names on the street.

Stress
A little bit of stress can make us do things well. Too much stress can become a powerful and negative emotional feeling and things can start to get on top of you.

surgeons
Surgeons are specially trained doctors who know how to do complicated operations.

take it personally
Sometimes it can feel like the whole world is against you. This isn't really the case it just feels that way! Some people aren't sure what to say to you and are worried about upsetting you by saying something stupid about your ABI. This can feel so awkward for them that sometimes they might avoid you all together.

talking therapy
Talking therapy allows you to talk about your problems before they get too stressful or make you depressed. Some adults go for talking therapy in counselling or psychotherapy.

temporal lobe
You have two of these, one behind each ear. They receive messages from the ears and recognise what the sounds mean. This part of the brain also recognises speech and is how you understand what someones says to you. It also controls your sense of smell and your short term memory is also kept here.

tension headache
A headache caused by all of your muscles in your face and neck being tense.

too strict
Sometimes it seems like your teachers don't really get you or understand how difficult things can be for you. Maybe you feel like they make you do things that you find too difficult.

transition
This means to be in a phase of change, for example, being very sick in hospital to going home and learning to get your independence back.

Traumatic brain injury
Traumatic brain injury means a knock or blow that causes the brain to get bruised, cut, bleed or spin around inside the skull.

tubes
There can be so many tubes in intensive care; you can breathe through one, have one up your nose and into your stomach so you can have milk, and you can have another to pee out of too! This can be frightening but all of those tubes were there to help you get better and out of intensive care.

uncertain
Not sure of something.

unconscious
This is when you become unresponsive and it may look to other people that you have fallen into a deep sleep. If you find someone unconscious you should always call 999 for an ambulance.

unfair
All the bad stuff seems to happen to you.

university
There are many different qualifications you can do at University but they are much harder to do than anything you do at school!

unlock the knowledge
Sometimes it can feel like you have knowledge but it is hidden away in your brain somewhere and you want to find it.

unwind
Chill out.

uptight
Very stressed and anxious!

Vascular problems
The blood vessels are like a complicated pipe network. A bit like the plumbing in your house! If you have problems with weak pipes, narrow pipes or blocked pipes inside your body, doctors will call it a 'vascular problem' or 'vascular abnormality'.

ventilator
A special machine that breathes for you when you are too sick to do it for yourself.

ventricles
There are four ventricles all connected together. They sit inside the middle of the brain and produce cerebro spinal fluid.

virus
A clever little bug that is always changing and developing new ways to multiple inside the human body causing us to get sick!

wheelchair
A chair with wheels which will enable you to get about if you are having problems with your legs or feeling weak.

wires
There can be so many wires in intensive care too! Wires on your chest, on your finger and on your head! This can be frightening but all of those tubes were there to help you get better and out of intensive care.

X-rays
X-rays are an electromagnetic ray that can take pictures of inside the body.