An exploarative case study on the experience of a family whose child has survived a traumatic brain injury.

M.Ed.This study focuses on the role of the medico-legal team, and the educational psychologist in particular, towards the family whose child has survived Traumatic Brain Injury through an involvement in a motor vehicle accident. In South Africa there is a high incidence of motor vehicle accidents. This incidence, adversely affects families, emotionally, socially and economically. Research has shown that the incidence of Traumatic Brain injury (TBI) is higher in South Africa than the worldwide average as compared to other developing countries. This prevalence is confirmed by the Road Accident Fund, a government entity that is responsible for compensating victims of negligent road users that approximately 10 000 people die and 150 000 sustain injuries in South African roads every year. The study was conducted as an attempt to answer the research question: What is the experience of a family whose child has sustained a Traumatic Brain Injury? The envisaged outcomes of the research would then assist the researcher to offer recommendations for educational psychologists working with children who had survived TBI and their families, aimed addressing the needs of such families. The research paradigm emanates from a systemic view. It is a qualitative case study, drawn from a particular selected family, as a unit of study. Data was collected through unstructured interviews, and interviews were audio-taped and transcribed. Other sources of data were collected from hospital records, psychological records and letters from the school to be used as supporting evidence. The findings of the study suggest that families are subject to shock of the trauma, that they experience loss, they grieve for a lost one and have to cope with daily frustration, when their child survives a Traumatic Brain Injury. Recommendations have been drawn to provide a sound framework for educational psychologists who work with families whose children has experienced TBI.Mrs. J.V. Fouri