It really is estimated that more than one particular million adults in the UK are at the moment living with the long-term consequences 
of brain injuries (Headway, 2014b). Prices of ABI have enhanced considerably in recent years, with estimated increases more than ten years ranging from 33 per cent (Headway, 2014b) to 95 per cent (HSCIC, 2012). This raise is because of several different factors like improved emergency response following injury (Powell, 2004); extra cyclists interacting with heavier site visitors flow; elevated participation in dangerous sports; and bigger numbers of extremely old people inside the population. According to Nice (2014), the most common causes of ABI inside the UK are falls (22 ?43 per cent), assaults (30 ?50 per cent) and road website traffic accidents (circa 25 per cent), although the latter category accounts to get a disproportionate variety of much more serious brain injuries; other causes of ABI consist of sports injuries and domestic violence. Brain injury is additional common amongst men than women and shows peaks at ages fifteen to thirty and over eighty (Good, 2014). International data show similar patterns. By way of example, in the USA, the Centre for Illness Manage estimates that ABI impacts 1.7 million Americans every single year; children aged from birth to four, older teenagers and adults aged more than sixty-five possess the highest prices of ABI, with men extra susceptible than ladies across all age ranges (CDC, undated, Traumatic Brain Injury inside the United states of america: Reality Sheet, out there on line at www.cdc.gov/ traumaticbraininjury/get_the_facts.html, accessed December 2014). There is certainly 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 article will focus on existing UK policy and practice, the issues which it highlights are relevant to quite a few 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. A lot of people make a great recovery from their brain injury, whilst other people are left with significant ongoing troubles. Furthermore, as Headway (2014b) cautions, the `initial diagnosis of severity of injury will not be a trustworthy indicator of long-term problems’. The possible impacts of ABI are well described each in (non-social function) academic literature (e.g. Fleminger and Ponsford, 2005) and in personal accounts (e.g. Crimmins, 2001; Perry, 1986). Even so, provided the limited interest to ABI in social work literature, it is actually worth 10508619.2011.638589 listing a few of the prevalent after-effects: CEP-37440 chemical information physical difficulties, cognitive issues, impairment of executive functioning, alterations to a person’s behaviour and modifications to emotional regulation and `personality’. For many people with ABI, there is going to be no physical indicators of impairment, but some could encounter a range of physical issues which includes `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 getting especially popular just after cognitive activity. ABI may perhaps also cause cognitive difficulties including complications with journal.pone.0169185 memory and lowered speed of information processing by the brain. These physical and cognitive aspects of ABI, whilst difficult for the individual concerned, are fairly uncomplicated for social workers and others to conceptuali.