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Public Policy of the Brain Injury Network
Approved by the Board of Directors 2-20-2009
1. Assessments: Anyone with an acquired brain injury who is in the legal system should be assessed by a neuropsychiatrist or neuropsychologist, not merely a psychologist, prior to any placement determination.
2. Helmet Laws: (Superceded 6-13-09 and now reads:) We favor helmet laws for motorcyclists. We favor mandatory helmet use for adults and children (persons under the age of 18) who are on bicycles and skateboards.
3. Locked Facility: Persons with ABI should, if adjudicated to be necessary, be placed in ABI rehabilitation facilities (not mental health facilities). If it is determined by medical authorities that a person has an ABI and mental health issues, and it is adjudicated that the person must be placed in a facility, the facility must be a facility that is licensed to handle both ABI and mental health issues.
4. PTSD (Post Traumatic Stress Disorder): We oppose the mass reclassification of veterans with brain injury from traumatic brain injury (TBI) classification to post traumatic brain injury (PTSD) classification.
5. QEEG (Quantitative Electroencephalography): We would like the American Academy of Neurology and the American Clinical Neurophysiology Society to come to an understanding, a mutual agreement, with the American Psychological Association and other organizations representing psychologists, as to who should be allowed to perform the QEEG scan and for what purposes. As it stands, they do not agree.
6. Veterans of the US Armed Forces: We agree with the IAVA that veterans with acquired brain injuries (which includes TBI) should be assessed once, and that a reassessment done by the Department of Veterans Affairs later in conjunction with disability benefits is wasteful and harmful because of the delays and lack of appropriate assessment by the DVA.