allowances
Maybe you get away with things that you would 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.