Practical Strategies

Behaviour Management in Children after Encephalitis

After encephalitis, children can be left with various and complex needs (cognitive, emotional, fatigue, epilepsy) which may impact on how they behave

Depression after encephalitis

Everyone ‘feels low’ sometimes, but depression is different to these ‘normal’ feelings of sadness. Someone becomes depressed if these bad feelings don’t go away or become so bad that they stop them from doing everyday things like eating or taking care of themselves.

Driving After Encephalitis

Many people see their return to driving as a measure of their recovery. However, it must be remembered that driving involves many more complex skills than simply the mechanical ability to drive a vehicle. It requires the ability to observe, sequence events, make quick judgments, plan ahead and react appropriately to complicated situations, often in busy traffic.

Holidays And Respite Breaks

Holidays usually mean travelling, visiting new and unfamiliar places, spending time with many people, shopping and entertaining. Following encephalitis, some people may experience fatigue or have low tolerance for noise. They may need to have a structured environment in which to function as changes in their environment can quickly make them feel overwhelmed and ‘shut down’ cognitively and emotionally.

Managing Anger After Encephalitis

Encephalitis may lead to emotional and behavioural changes, including problems managing anger. These changes can be a direct consequence of damage to the emotional and behavioural control centres in the brain or an indirect psychological reaction to the other difficulties (e.g. cognitive, fatigue, epilepsy). Difficulty controlling anger may reflect an exaggeration of an individual’s pre-illness personality or it may be totally new for the person affected.

Managing Cognitive Changes After Encephalitis

Learning to manage changes in cognition after encephalitis means becoming more aware of how you think and feel, accepting your strengths and challenges without judgement and adopting new coping strate

Managing Emotional Changes After Encephalitis

Emotional changes are particularly common in life after encephalitis, feelings of grief and hopelessness can be part of the process of adjusting to the challenges you face.

Managing Fatigue After Encephalitis

Following encephalitis, it is common for people to experience fatigue. Fatigue is an overwhelming feeling of tiredness. Some people describe fatigue like ‘hitting a wall’. Fatigue has a huge impact on people’s lives as it interferes with everyday tasks.

Managing memory problems after encephalitis

The long term effects after encephalitis may be characterised by cognitive and behavioural changes which may have a significant impact upon psycho-social functioning and return to an individual’s previous level of functioning. This factsheet aims to help people understand why there are memory problems after encephalitis and what can be done to help.

Social Care Needs

If you think that you or somebody (adult) you look after has care and support needs, you may want to contact the local authority (adult social care team) to arrange an assessment of these needs

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