TBI - What, How, Who

What is Traumatic Brain Injury?

Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is defined as a blow or jolt to the head or a penetrating head injury that disrupts the function of the brain. Not all blows or jolts to the head result in a TBI. The severity of such an injury may range from "mild," i.e., a brief change in mental status or consciousness to "severe," i.e., an extended period of unconsciousness or amnesia after the injury. A TBI can result in short or long-term problems with independent function.

Each year, at least 1.5 million Americans sustain a traumatic brain injury resulting in more than 4,000 individuals sustaining a TBI on a daily basis. One million people are treated and released annually from hospital emergency rooms after sustaining a brain injury. Brain injury claims more than 50,000 lives and leaves more than 80,000 individuals with lifelong disabilities each year. The silent epidemic of brain injury is illustrated best by a 1999 statistic from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) - there currently are at least 5.3 million Americans living with a disability as a result of brain injury.

• Every 21 seconds a brain injury occurs in the United States.
• Approximately 5.3 million Americans (2% of US population) live with disabilities from brain injuries.
• Each year ONE MILLION people are treated and released from emergency rooms and 50,000 people die.
• The cost of traumatic brain injury, in the United States, exceeds $48 BILLION annually.
• Brain injuries are the #1 killer of persons under the age of 44. They kill more Americans under the age of 34 than all diseases combined.

The leading causes of TBI:

• Falls (28%);
• Motor vehicle-traffic crashes (20%);
• Struck by/against (19%);
• Assaults (11%);
• Blasts are a leading cause of TBI for active duty military personnel in war zones.

Who is at risk for a TBI?

Males are about 1.5 times as likely as females to sustain a TBI. The two age groups at highest risk for TBI are 0 to 4 year olds and 15 to 19 year olds. Certain military duties (e.g., paratrooper) increase the risk of sustaining a TBI. African Americans have the highest death rate from TBI.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that at least 5.3 million Americans currently have a long-term or lifelong need for help to perform activities of daily living as a result of a TBI.

According to one study, about 40% of those hospitalized with a TBI had at least one unmet need for services one year after their injury. The most frequent unmet needs were:

• Improving memory and problem solving;
• Managing stress and emotional upsets;
• Controlling one's temper; and
• Improving one's job skills.

TBI can cause a wide range of functional changes affecting thinking, sensation, language, and/or emotions. It can also cause epilepsy and increase the risk for conditions such as Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease, and other brain disorders that become more prevalent with age.

For more information, contact the Brain Injury Association of America

• BIA USA - http://www.biausa.org/

Support Groups

Ardmore - Southern Oklahoma TBI Support Group

Not currently meeting and no facilitator at this time.

Enid/Northwest Oklahoma Brain Injury Association of Oklahoma Support Group

Meets 3rd Tuesday of the month at 6:30 PM at

St. Mary's RehabCare Unit (5 South)

305 S. 5th Enid OK 73701

Contact Jeff Chace at (580)548-5081 or This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. .

McAlester Head Injury Support Group

Meets on the 3rd Thursday of each month at 3:30 to 5:00 PM

Oklahomans for Independent Living Resource Center

601 E. Carl Albert Pkwy

McAlester, OK  74501

Contact Person: Trevor Dunbar (918) 426-6220, ext. 103 or This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. .

Muskogee Brain Injury Association of Oklahoma Support Group

Meets on the 3rd Tuesday of the month at 6:30 PM at

Conference Room of Muskogee Regional Rehab

300 Rockefeller Dr.

Muskogee, OK  74401

Contact Trina Jones at 918-913-5537 or This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. .

Norman Brain Injury Association of Oklahoma Support Group

No regular meeting date at this time.

Contact Janice Oak at Progressive Independence

121 N. Porter Ave.

(800)801-3203 or This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Oklahoma City Support Group

MEETS TWICE MONTHLY

Meets on the First Tuesday of the month from 6:00 – 8:00 PM

Valir Rehabilitation Hospital

721 NW 7th St (Near St Anthony Hospital)

Park in lot south of the building from 6th Street.

Meets on the Third Tuesday of the month from 6:00 – 8:00 PM

NeuroResources Rehabilitation

6108 NW 63rd Street (on South side of NW 63rd St — half mile W of MacArthur — across the street South of 7-11) Look for the big NeuroResources sign on the East side of the building furthest South in the Falls Professional Center.

Contact Gary Bulmer at (405)227-8747 or This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. -or-Rod Davidson at (405)524-8953  or This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. –or-     

(In case of bad weather during winter months, call to make sure we are still meeting.)

write P.O. Box 60912, OKC, OK 73146-0912.

Visit the OKC website for maps to meeting locations  

Oklahoma City Support Group

Meets on the 4th Thursday of the month at 6:00 PM- 7:30 PM at the

Integris Health Jim Thorpe Rehabilitation Hospital –

Jones Education Classroom, 1st Floor

4219 S Western, Oklahoma City

Contact Karen Bryan at (405) 644-5381 or This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. .    

Stillwater Brain Injury Association of Oklahoma Support Group

Not currently meeting and no facilitator at this time.

Tulsa Brain Injury Association of Oklahoma Support Group

Sponsored by Comprehensive Community Rehabilitation Services

Meets on the 4th Thursday of the month (except for Holidays) at 6:30 PM

7146 S. Braden Ave., Suite 500

Tulsa, OK  74136

Please call Mary Dobbs at (918)488-6165  or This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. for questions or to be added to the mailing list.

Additional Educational Opportunities

(The Following Are Not Affiliated with the Brain Injury Association of Oklahoma)

Citywide Stroke Support Group - Oklahoma City, OK

Meets on the 4th Monday of the month from 6:30-8:30 PM at

American Heart Association

5700 N Portland, Room 110, Oklahoma City.

Call Mashell (405) 948-2134 to be included on mailing list or find other groups in OKC area.

Brain Injury Camps

An annual camp for brain injury survivors sponsored by the Brain Injury Association of Oklahoma is held each Spring at the Central Christian Camp in Guthrie. Approximately 60 campers, counselors, and volunteers attend each year. Great fun is had by all with games, crafts, a hayride, cookout, bingo, fishing, paddle boat rides, horseshoes, fishing, and the best dance music in Oklahoma.

Everyone always has a wonderful and memorable time. Here are some campers' comments:

"This is the best time of my life";
"...I wish I could just stay at camp where I’m accepted
instead of having to go back out into the world";
"...I feel so happy here’’; and "thank you, thank you, thank you...".

Everyone has fun, makes new friends, and laughs a lot. Even before the glow wears off the current year’s camp, we are already working on the next year's camp. It takes a lot of time and energy to obtain sponsors and counselors and plan the event, but it is well worth it when we see the smiles on campers' faces at camp!

For a truly wonderful and memorable experience, plan to attend next year’s camp as a camper or as a volunteer. For information about the Oklahoma Brain Injury Camp, call Cathe Fox at 405-364-8118.

The Brain Injury Association of Oklahoma says "Thank You!!" to all Camp Sponsors. Won't you consider participating next year?