Developing brains in children are more susceptible to traumatic brain injuries than brains that are already fully developed. A commonly held belief is that children can often recover from brain injuries better than adults because a developing brain can rewire itself and adapt to the injury. Study shows, however, that this is not the case and that brain damage sustained at an early age can be more damaging than a similar injury that might occur when a brain is fully developed.

What makes a traumatic brain injury in a child so devastating is the fact that the ramifications of an injury may not become apparent until years later. Judging the cognitive ability and social behaviors of a child is different than testing the ability of an adult. Adults will have prior tests to reference along with employment history and school performance to judge in order to assess an adult’s aptitude level before and after a brain injury. Children do not have the same amount of materials to reference in order to judge their aptitude before and after a serious brain injury.

This is especially true when a child sustains a brain injury at a very young age. This is mainly due to the fact that the frontal lobe is the part of the brain, which develops last. The frontal lobe controls our social behaviors. If this part of the brain is damaged at a young age, it is hard to determine whether or not a brain injury causes certain types of anxieties later in life or if that sort of behavior is normal. This makes assessing what damage occurred and how severe this damage may be a huge challenge.