Which describes a child TBI in the listed terms?

• A. Headache in a child
• B. Any injury to a child under 18
• C. Biting or scratching a child
• D. A child under 6 or infant—caused by shaking or blunt impact

Answer: (D)

Traumatic brain injury happens when external mechanical force damages the brain. In young children, especially those under six or infants, shaking or blunt impact can cause brain injury even if there isn’t obvious external damage. That makes the description of a child under six or an infant who is injured by shaking or blunt impact the best fit for TBI, because it identifies both the mechanism (external force) and the vulnerable age group. A headache describes a symptom, not the injury itself; an injury to a child under 18 is too broad to specify brain injury; and biting or scratching points to abuse behavior, not a brain injury from external force.