To view the book click here, or click the image of the book cover.

Acquired brain injury (ABI) is caused by trauma on the roads, falls or assaults, brain infections such as meningitis and encephalitis, hypoxia and bleeding into the brain from strokes or sub-arachnoid haemorrhage. ABI has become much more common in the past 30 years and has resulted in many people living for prolonged periods with major disabilities.

Coma often follows severe brain injury. Coma indicates that major damage to the brain has occurred.

It was to assist this group of people and their families that the approach developed by Ted Freeman, and described in this book, was developed.

The orthodox medical view has been that little can be done to accelerate the patient's arousal from coma. Very often, little is done with these patients and the longer the period of coma, the worse the eventual outcome.

The Freeman approach of encouraging early intervention following brain injury is based on the fact that any innate potential of the brain to recover from injury is likely to diminish with the passage of time. Recent research has shown that the adult brain retains nerve cells which are still capable of division to produce new cells. Molecules which can stimulate cell division are released into brain tissue in response to injury, but their concentration lessens with the passage of time.

Using the Freeman approach an attempt is made to communicate with the patient as early as possible within the general medical management. It is not based on "high tech" and includes no highly complicated procedures.

The importance of the family as the providers of care, and their central position as the primary therapist, is detailed. Step by step, the family is shown how to deal with this catastrophe, how to move from the emotion of despair to practical reality, and the importance of hope.

They are shown how to make their own accurate diagnosis of the patient, how to provide the necessary therapy, how to co-operate with the health care professions in attempting to restore the patient to the conscious state, and how to continue rehabilitation.

Although rarely recorded in this book, the outcomes from the application of the procedures which Dr Freeman advocates have often been remarkable. Dr Freeman has generously made the contents of his book available to all those who might benefit from it. Any or all of it may be easily accessed from this website. However, those who would prefer to have the whole book more readily at their disposal can obtain a paper or CD ROM(PDF) copy by writing to the Foundation requesting a copy and enclosing $10 to cover the cost of the disc and postage.

Robert Crompton
President, National Brain Injury Foundation