Unfortunately, contrary to popular belief, children do not recover better from traumatic brain injuries than adults. While it may seem initially that a child has recovered from the injury, it is often impossible to know the long-term impacts of the injury in a child until that child’s brain has reached maturity. At every new phase of development, new deficits can emerge that—without knowing that a brain injury had occurred—the defense could blame on learning disabilities or mental health issues. The brain tends to develop from the bottom up and the back forward, meaning the frontal lobe—responsible for functions such as reasoning, judgment, and the ability to control behaviors and impulses—is the last part of the brain to develop. If a very young child suffers a frontal lobe injury, it could be years before the effects of the injury fully emerge. Children who suffer from traumatic brain injuries often require special accommodations at school to assist them in working around the injury. These accommodations can include paying a paraprofessional who can help the child stay organized and provide instructional assistance; the extra time to complete assignments or finish tests; shorter school days or fewer days of attendance at school for the child to cope with fatigue, which is commonly experienced after a brain injury; and the option to take oral tests or tests written in multiple-choice form rather than in essay form; the ability to record lessons to play back later and refresh the child’s memory about the lesson. Because of the permanent nature of brain damage, deficits incurred by your child’s injury will likely accompany them into adulthood and prevent the child from earning an income or completing personal care tasks independently. Your attorney will help you determine an appropriate level of compensation that can take care of your child’s future needs.