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Acquired Brain Injury (ABI) & Brain Injury Support

Lifest HealthCare provides personalised Acquired Brain Injury (ABI) and brain injury support across Brisbane and South East Queensland.

Talk to Our ABI Support Team

Understanding Acquired Brain Injury

When a brain injury changes everyday life

An Acquired Brain Injury (ABI) refers to damage to the brain that occurs after birth. The impact can vary considerably depending on the nature and severity of the injury and the areas of the brain affected.

For some people, physical changes may be the most noticeable. For others, the greatest challenges may involve cognition, communication, fatigue, behaviour, emotional wellbeing or executive functioning, the skills involved in planning, organising and completing everyday activities.

A person living with ABI may experience changes involving:

  • Memory and concentration
  • Planning, organisation and problem-solving
  • Processing information
  • Speech and communication
  • Mobility, balance or coordination
  • Fatigue and energy levels
  • Emotional regulation
  • Behaviour and impulse control
  • Social interaction and relationships
  • Personal care and everyday routines
  • Confidence and independence
  • Participation in work, study and community life

These changes can affect not only the participant, but also their family, relationships and wider support network.

That is why effective ABI support needs to understand the whole person, not simply the diagnosis.

Personalised ABI Support

Two people with an acquired brain injury may require completely different types of support.

Support designed around how the injury affects you

One person may be physically independent but require assistance with planning, memory and organising their day. Another may have strong cognitive abilities but need significant support with mobility and personal care. Others may experience challenges across several areas at once.

Lifest HealthCare does not approach brain injury support through a standard checklist.

We seek to understand how the injury affects the participant's everyday life, what they can do independently, where assistance is required and what they would like their support to help them achieve.

This allows support to be built around the individual rather than expecting the individual to fit around the service.

Support with you, not simply for you

After a brain injury, it can sometimes be quicker or easier for another person to complete a task. But constantly doing everything for someone can reduce opportunities for that person to participate, practise skills and exercise choice.

At Lifest HealthCare, our approach is to understand where support is needed without unnecessarily taking over.

Where appropriate, this may mean breaking an activity into manageable steps, providing a prompt rather than completing the task, allowing additional time for a decision or supporting the participant to complete the parts of an activity they can manage themselves.

The objective is not independence at any cost. It is about finding the right balance between assistance, safety, dignity, participation and individual capability.

How Lifest HealthCare Can Support You

Practical support for everyday life

Depending on the participant's individual circumstances, goals, approved supports and Lifest HealthCare's scope of service, ABI support may include:

  • Personal Care & Daily Routines

    Respectful assistance with personal care, morning and evening routines, dressing, grooming and other everyday activities while encouraging participation wherever possible.

  • Mobility & Transfers

    Appropriate assistance with mobility, positioning and transfers in accordance with the participant's individual requirements and relevant professional recommendations.

  • Memory, Planning & Organisation

    Using appropriate prompts, routines and practical strategies to support remembering activities, organising the day and completing everyday tasks. A participant may appear physically capable while still finding it difficult to remember information, start an activity or organise the steps of a task.

  • Meal Preparation & Household Activities

    Supporting participants to participate in cooking, shopping and household routines at a level appropriate to their abilities and goals.

  • Communication Support

    Taking the time to understand how the participant communicates and supporting them to express preferences, participate in conversations and make everyday choices. Where frustration or changes in social behaviour emerge, we work within relevant support strategies with an emphasis on clear communication, consistency and dignity.

  • Community Access & Participation

    Supporting participants to reconnect with their community, pursue interests, attend activities and build confidence outside the home. Success is measured by what is meaningful to the individual, not by how many activities someone attends.

  • Appointments & Everyday Activities

    Assistance preparing for and attending appointments, activities and other important parts of everyday life.

  • Implementing Allied Health Strategies

    Where appropriate, Lifest HealthCare can work alongside relevant allied health professionals and support the consistent implementation of agreed strategies within everyday routines.

  • Nursing & Complex Support

    Where the participant has additional disability-related health or complex support requirements, Lifest HealthCare considers the qualifications, competencies and scope needed to provide that support appropriately.

  • Managing Fatigue & Energy

    Fatigue can affect concentration, mood, communication and the ability to complete everyday activities. We help structure the day so that important activities fall when the participant has the greatest capacity to engage, allowing appropriate breaks.

  • Returning Home After Hospital

    Returning home after hospitalisation or rehabilitation can bring new routines, equipment and levels of assistance. We work alongside the participant's support network so that professional recommendations carry into everyday life at home.

  • Working With Families

    Families often hold important knowledge about the participant's history, routines and life before the injury. Where the participant wishes, we work collaboratively with family while keeping their own rights, preferences and decision-making at the centre.

Our Approach to ABI Support

  1. We Listen First

    We begin by understanding the participant, their injury, current circumstances, established routines, strengths and goals.

  2. We Understand the Functional Impact

    We consider how the brain injury affects everyday life, including mobility, cognition, communication, personal care, behaviour, relationships and participation.

  3. We Understand Existing Recommendations

    Where relevant, we review appropriate care information and recommendations from the participant's rehabilitation, clinical and allied health professionals.

  4. We Build Support Around the Individual

    Support is shaped around what the participant can do, where assistance is required and how they prefer that assistance to be provided.

  5. We Build Familiarity & Consistency

    Where possible, continuity helps the support team develop a stronger understanding of the participant's routines, communication and preferences.

  6. We Stay Responsive

    As abilities, circumstances and goals change, the support approach can be reviewed with the participant and relevant members of their support network.

Connected ABI Support

Working alongside the wider rehabilitation and care team

With appropriate consent, Lifest HealthCare can work collaboratively with relevant professionals so that agreed recommendations and support strategies can be understood and applied consistently within everyday support.

Brain injury support may involve a multidisciplinary network of professionals, which can include:

  • Support Coordinators
  • Specialist Support Coordinators
  • Occupational Therapists
  • Physiotherapists
  • Speech Pathologists
  • Psychologists
  • Behaviour Support Practitioners
  • Nurses
  • GPs and medical specialists
  • Rehabilitation teams
  • Family and informal supports

For Support Coordinators & Referrers

Looking for ABI support for a participant?

Lifest HealthCare welcomes referrals from Support Coordinators, Specialist Support Coordinators, hospital and rehabilitation teams, allied health professionals, participants and families.

For participants with acquired brain injury, our initial conversation considers more than the diagnosis. We seek to understand the person's functional needs, communication, mobility, cognition, existing routines, relevant risks, current professional recommendations and the outcomes they want their support to enable.

This helps us determine whether Lifest HealthCare has the appropriate capability and support model for the participant's individual requirements.

Make an ABI Support Referral

Frequently Asked Questions

  • An acquired brain injury refers to damage to the brain that occurs after birth. The effects vary significantly between individuals and can involve physical, cognitive, behavioural, emotional and communication changes.

  • Depending on individual needs and approved supports, Lifest HealthCare may assist with personal care, daily routines, mobility, household activities, memory and organisational strategies, communication, community participation and implementation of relevant professional recommendations. More complex support may also be available where appropriate.

  • Depending on the participant's requirements and Lifest's capacity, we can support people transitioning back into everyday life following hospital or rehabilitation. We can also work alongside relevant professionals, with appropriate consent, to help established recommendations translate into everyday support.

  • Yes. With appropriate consent, Lifest HealthCare can collaborate with relevant rehabilitation professionals, Support Coordinators and allied health practitioners so that agreed strategies are understood within the participant's everyday support environment.

  • Yes. A person's abilities, goals and support requirements can change following a brain injury. Lifest takes a responsive approach so that support can be reviewed as the participant's circumstances evolve.

Related Services

Our approach looks beyond the injury itself.

We take the time to understand who the person was before their injury, what life looks like today and what they want to work towards next.

Enquire About ABI Support