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Governments often count the costs of brain injures in terms of hospital care and rehabilitation.
The Tasmanian Government estimates it takes $12 million over a life time to treat and care for an 18-year-old male with an acquired brain injury caused by a car accident.
But the chief executive of Tasmania's Brain Injury Association, Deborah Byrne, says this this figure fails to recognise the huge social impact of acquired brain injuries.
"Brain injury is a key factor in homelessness, unemployment and family breakdown, so there's a significant cost to the community," Ms Byrne said.
In Tasmania, it's estimated about 10,000 people have an acquired brain injury and there are a further 2,000 cases every year.
About two thirds of people with an acquired brain injury, or ABI, sustained their injury before they were 25 years old.
"We're seeing an increase in alcohol-related brain injuries and assaults and violence, and that tends to be young people," Ms Byrne said.
For two years now, the Brain Injury Association and the brain injury support group Headway Tasmania have been running an educational program to target people aged 16 to 25.
The Heads Up 2 Brain Injury program trains people with acquired brain injuries to deliver presentations in high schools across the state.
Andrew Hodges is one of the presenters. He was hit by a car on the Brooker Highway in 1987 when he was 14 years old. It took him 10 years of painful rehabilitation before he could return to school.
"It was so painful [trying to recover] and I knew what it was like before my accident and then I had to learn to live in this body," Mr Hodges said.
He feels it is important he participates in the Heads Up program and tells students his story. "If they see me going down the street, they might be prejudiced but I am normal. Just because I am stuck in a wheelchair, I still have normal human wants and desires," Mr Hodges said.
Rob Thomas is the principal of Cosgrove High School in Glenorchy, north of Hobart. He's had two years of grade nine students go through the program.
"What we try to do through the Heads Up 2 Brain Injury program and through many other programs we run here, is we try to let kids think about some of the consequences of some of the risky behaviours that they take.
"Sometimes in a split second things can happen, a split second can change their life forever." Mr Thomas says the program has had an impact on his students.
"The program is a fantastic opportunity for kids to focus on how accidents can occur really, really quickly and have a profound effect on a person's future choices in their life and Andrew does a great job in telling us how it has affected his life," Mr Thomas said.
Cosgrove High school student Taylor Russell agrees. "It's really inspiring, if anything, just to hear from someone who's got a brain injury and what they've experienced through their life."
Her fellow student, 15-year-old Brad Duffy, said the program has changed how he perceives people with a disability.
"It could happen to anyone, what happened to them doesn't make them any different to us, it's just that something happened in their life."
Darren Osborn is the chief executive of Headway Tasmania. He says the program aims to break down 'the 10-foot-tall and bullet proof' syndrome of young people, who think they're immune to brain injury.
"If the program makes one person think about it, if it makes one person change their behaviour, if it's one less referral to our organisation, than that's great," Mr Osborn said.
Six Headway clients, including Mr Hodges, have completed accredited training courses through the Tasmanian Polytechnic in order to present the schools program.
Mr Osborn says this gives his clients a purpose in life. "We truly believe everyone needs to wake up in the morning, disability or not, with a purpose and to feel valued and engaged.
"They're holding their heads up higher, they're looking at greater opportunities, they're starting to believe in themselves."
National Brain Injury Awareness week starts on Monday August 16.
Deborah Byrne says it's an opportunity to break down the barriers facing people with acquired brain injuries.
"Brain injuries are often referred to as the hidden, or invisible, disability," Ms Byrne said.
"The impacts of the disability aren't as obvious as if they had a physical disability.
"What we do with Brain Injury Awareness Week is try and raise awareness in the community, of the impact that a brain injury can have on a person's life, on their families life and on the community in general."
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