It can be estimated that more than one million adults in the UK are currently living with all the long-term consequences of brain injuries (Headway, 2014b). Prices of ABI have improved considerably in current years, with estimated increases over ten years ranging from 33 per cent (Headway, 2014b) to 95 per cent (HSCIC, 2012). This boost is as a consequence of a variety of aspects such as enhanced emergency response following injury (Powell, 2004); much more cyclists interacting with heavier targeted traffic flow; improved participation in harmful sports; and larger numbers of quite old people within the population. According to Good (2014), by far the most frequent causes of ABI inside the UK are falls (22 ?43 per cent), assaults (30 ?50 per cent) and road traffic accidents (circa 25 per cent), though the latter category accounts to get a disproportionate number of far more severe brain injuries; other causes of ABI contain sports injuries and domestic violence. Brain injury is far more frequent amongst guys than women and shows peaks at ages fifteen to thirty and over eighty (Nice, 2014). International data show equivalent patterns. For example, in the USA, the Centre for Illness Manage estimates that ABI affects 1.7 million Americans every year; youngsters aged from birth to 4, older teenagers and adults aged more than sixty-five have the highest rates of ABI, with men much more susceptible than ladies across all age ranges (CDC, undated, Traumatic Brain Injury inside the United states: Fact Sheet, offered online at www.cdc.gov/ traumaticbraininjury/get_the_facts.html, accessed December 2014). There is also growing awareness and concern in the USA about ABI amongst military personnel (see, e.g. Okie, 2005), with ABI rates reported to exceed onefifth of combatants (Okie, 2005; Terrio et al., 2009). Whilst this short article will focus on existing UK policy and practice, the troubles which it highlights are relevant to numerous national contexts.Acquired Brain Injury, Social Work and PersonalisationIf the causes of ABI are wide-ranging and unevenly distributed across age and gender, the impacts of ABI are similarly diverse. Many people make a great recovery from their brain injury, whilst other people are left with considerable ongoing difficulties. Moreover, as Headway (2014b) cautions, the `initial diagnosis of severity of injury is not a reliable indicator of long-term problems’. The possible impacts of ABI are effectively described each in (non-social function) academic literature (e.g. Fleminger and Ponsford, 2005) and in private accounts (e.g. Crimmins, 2001; Perry, 1986). Nonetheless, MedChemExpress RQ-00000007 provided the limited focus to ABI in social function literature, it’s worth 10508619.2011.638589 listing some of the frequent after-effects: physical issues, cognitive troubles, impairment of executive functioning, adjustments to a person’s behaviour and adjustments to emotional regulation and `personality’. For a lot of persons with ABI, there are going to be no physical indicators of impairment, but some might encounter a array of physical troubles like `loss of co-ordination, muscle GM6001 rigidity, paralysis, epilepsy, difficulty in speaking, loss of sight, smell or taste, fatigue, and sexual problems’ (Headway, 2014b), with fatigue and headaches becoming particularly widespread just after cognitive activity. ABI may possibly also lead to cognitive difficulties like complications with journal.pone.0169185 memory and decreased speed of data processing by the brain. These physical and cognitive elements of ABI, whilst difficult for the individual concerned, are relatively simple for social workers and other folks to conceptuali.It can be estimated that more than a single million adults in the UK are currently living with the long-term consequences of brain injuries (Headway, 2014b). Rates of ABI have elevated significantly in recent years, with estimated increases over ten years ranging from 33 per cent (Headway, 2014b) to 95 per cent (HSCIC, 2012). This improve is as a result of many different things including enhanced emergency response following injury (Powell, 2004); extra cyclists interacting with heavier visitors flow; increased participation in dangerous sports; and bigger numbers of incredibly old people today inside the population. As outlined by Good (2014), essentially the most widespread causes of ABI in the UK are falls (22 ?43 per cent), assaults (30 ?50 per cent) and road site visitors accidents (circa 25 per cent), although the latter category accounts for any disproportionate variety of extra extreme brain injuries; other causes of ABI consist of sports injuries and domestic violence. Brain injury is a lot more frequent amongst men than females and shows peaks at ages fifteen to thirty and more than eighty (Nice, 2014). International information show related patterns. For example, in the USA, the Centre for Illness Handle estimates that ABI impacts 1.7 million Americans every year; young children aged from birth to four, older teenagers and adults aged over sixty-five possess the highest rates of ABI, with guys far more susceptible than females across all age ranges (CDC, undated, Traumatic Brain Injury in the United states of america: Truth Sheet, readily available online at www.cdc.gov/ traumaticbraininjury/get_the_facts.html, accessed December 2014). There is also growing awareness and concern inside the USA about ABI amongst military personnel (see, e.g. Okie, 2005), with ABI rates reported to exceed onefifth of combatants (Okie, 2005; Terrio et al., 2009). Whilst this article will focus on existing UK policy and practice, the challenges which it highlights are relevant to several national contexts.Acquired Brain Injury, Social Work and PersonalisationIf the causes of ABI are wide-ranging and unevenly distributed across age and gender, the impacts of ABI are similarly diverse. Some individuals make a fantastic recovery from their brain injury, while other people are left with substantial ongoing troubles. Moreover, as Headway (2014b) cautions, the `initial diagnosis of severity of injury just isn’t a trustworthy indicator of long-term problems’. The possible impacts of ABI are properly described both in (non-social work) academic literature (e.g. Fleminger and Ponsford, 2005) and in personal accounts (e.g. Crimmins, 2001; Perry, 1986). Nevertheless, offered the restricted consideration to ABI in social perform literature, it can be worth 10508619.2011.638589 listing a number of the common after-effects: physical difficulties, cognitive difficulties, impairment of executive functioning, changes to a person’s behaviour and adjustments to emotional regulation and `personality’. For a lot of men and women with ABI, there will likely be no physical indicators of impairment, but some may perhaps experience a selection of physical troubles including `loss of co-ordination, muscle rigidity, paralysis, epilepsy, difficulty in speaking, loss of sight, smell or taste, fatigue, and sexual problems’ (Headway, 2014b), with fatigue and headaches becoming particularly popular following cognitive activity. ABI may well also lead to cognitive difficulties including troubles with journal.pone.0169185 memory and reduced speed of data processing by the brain. These physical and cognitive aspects of ABI, while difficult for the individual concerned, are somewhat simple for social workers and others to conceptuali.