Hurting you head can make it difficult to pay attention or learn new things and remember things. Attention is very complicated but it is the part of the brain that keeps us aware of what we are doing and what is going on around us. It is how you know where you are and what is going on around you. It helps us to understand when to speak, what to do and when to do it.

Hurting your brain can make it hard to pay attention because your brain can’t concentrate on any one thing.

If you can’t pay attention it becomes really hard to learn. You can’t concentrate on anything long enough for your brain to learn new things. This can make school work really difficult.

Memory is where we keep all of our learning. Hurting your head can make it hard for you to remember things you already know. You might find you have to re-learn some things you used to know really well before.

Here are some common problems having an ABI can cause with your attention, learning and memory:

• You find it difficult to pay attention
• School work that you used to be able to do is harder now
• You find it hard to learn new things
• You can't remember things you used to know 
• You forget names and who people are
• You can’t understand what people are saying to you, this is called receptive dysphasia
• Teachers expect you to do the same amount of work you used to do
• School is giving you a big headache!

It is frustrating but there are no quick fixes. You brain needs time to adjust and it may take along time to re-learn things you used to do well before. There will be a team to help you adjust when you go to rehab and you will continue to re-learn things when you go back to school.  Have a look at the rehabilitation and school sections for more on this. 

Be patient with yourself. Talk to your friends, family and teachers and let them know how you feel.