Information about Acquired Brain Injury for people doing time in Victoria
What is an Acquired Brain Injury (ABI)?
An ABI is damage to the brain that occurs at any point after birth that affects people in different ways.
How do you get an ABI?
Some causes of brain injury:
Hitting your head during a fight / physical violence
Hitting your head from a car or motorcycle crash
Drug overdose causing loss of oxygen to brain
Chronic alcohol use
Brain tumor, infection or brain disease
The effects of an ABI
The long-term effects of acquired brain injury are different for everyone. Brain injuries are often called the ‘hidden disability’ because it is not always obvious to see that someone has an ABI. The effects might not be physical. An ABI can affect someone's thinking, their emotions, or their memory. Because the affects are not always physical, it can take a long time before someone realises, they might have an ABI.
Possible effect on the brain:
Short-term memory affected
Hard to find answers to problems
Hard to concentrate or pay attention
Hard to plan and organize
Hard to find inspiration or motivation to do things
Not able to see the future consequences of your actions (eg. don’t think about it, worry about it later)
Possible effect on mental health:
Stress
Depression
Anxiety (panic attacks that lead to dizziness and black-out)
Possible effect on the body:
Dizziness and balance problems
Ongoing constant pain
Headaches or migraine
Taste and smell changes
Problems with sleep
Possible effect on behavior:
Easily angry or annoyed (raising voice, overly expressive)
Difficulty socialising with others (can be very direct but not mean to sound rude)
Slower to respond to things
Hard to control emotions (eg. Can be in a great mood and then something small happens and you are suddenly in the worst mood - ‘an emotional rollercoaster’)
What do I do if I think I have an ABI and I am currently in prison?
Ask your lawyer:
If you still have a matter in the court, you can ask your lawyer if it is possible to get an ABI diagnosis if it may support you in your case
If your lawyer thinks that it might help, your lawyer can try to get the diagnosis paid for by Victorian Legal Aid.
It is not always easy for lawyers to be successful in getting their clients an ABI diagnosis, but you should always ask if you think you might have an indicator of an ABI.
If you have already been sentenced:
At any time while in prison you can ask to be referred to the Prison Disability Support Initiative (PDSI). You should ask a peer educator or a prison staff member for a referral to the PDSI. The PDSI should be able to support you to find out more about if you have an ABI and may be able to help you on a pathway to diagnosis. Let us know how you go or if there is a barrier to your access.
Everyone deserves to receive proper care and support within prison. If you are unsure of your healthcare rights, you can access the Prison Law Handbook on the Offender Services Network or in the prison library. This will give you information about your legal rights in prison.
If you are leaving prison soon, you have other options:
Once you are out of prison, you can access an organisation in Victoria called ARBIAS.
ARBIAS provides FREE, government-funded ABI diagnoses. It takes 6-8 months to get an assessment.
Complete the referral form to ARBIAS as soon as you know you are being released to speed up the process, but you will have to wait until you have an address and phone number on the outside.
Complete the form yourself, or ask a support person or a friend on the inside to fill it out for you.
Things can be made easier, and life can be less difficult to overcome with the right support and diagnosis.
Contact ARBIAS on (03) 8388 1222
Peer Support after prison
Learning from and spending time with other people who live with an acquired brain injury can be helpful and meaningful. There are some groups you can go to:
Brain Injury Matters (BIM):
BIM runs free support groups you can attend with other people who have brain injuries. These are online or in-person across Victoria.
Voices for Change:
Voices for Change (us!) is a support and self-advocacy group for people who have experienced Acquired Brain Injury while in the criminal justice system. We educate the community on what it is like to have an ABI and we raise awareness about the changes that need to be made to the justice system.
After release, get in touch with us if you would like to learn more about getting connecting with our group.
Self-Identifying with an ABI
If you notice you used to be able to sit down and concentrate longer, or you're not able to remember stuff that happened just a few minutes before, or that when you're talking you all of the sudden lost what you were saying, or you keep forgetting important dates – these are things we all experience from our ABI’s at Voices for Change.
Even if you haven't been diagnosed as having an ABI, you may feel that you have one. If you can relate to a lot of the effects of an ABI we listed, you can choose to tell your support services, prison staff or education providers that you think you have an ABI because of your previous head trauma and you are waiting to be diagnosed.
Some final words from your peers at Voices for Change:
Don't be ashamed or afraid, we have been there before. You're not the first person and you're not going to be the last.
All these feelings that you’re feeling are normal, they'reareal feelings!
Things shouldn’t get any worse, things should get better. We wish you luck for your future!
