Definition of ABI
An acquired brain injury (ABI) is damage to the brain, which may be caused:
- Traumatically, e.g., from an external force such as a collision, fall, or assault (including intimate partner violence)
- Through a medical problem or disease process which causes damage to the brain, e.g., anoxia, non-progressive tumour, aneurysm, infection, stroke with diffuse cognitive deficits.
An ABI occurs after birth and is not related to:
- A congenital disorder or developmental disability, e.g., cerebral palsy, muscular dystrophy, autism, spina bifida with hydrocephalus
- A process which progressively damages the brain, e.g., dementing processes, multiple sclerosis, Alzheimer’s Disease, Parkinson’s Disease.
Source: Toronto ABI Network Definition of ABI, May 1999.