I believe Jackie...Low self-esteem, and low self-confidence is fairly common with TBI....I think if depends alot on what the person die before their TBI accident....I was a pretty-good singer and played guitar...Well, I can play fair good now...but, the singing...forget it!  My vocals are pretty bad now...Don't know why......I slur alot also....Possibly Aphasia-related issues with the brain controlling the mouth muscles...I believe that has a lot to do with it....My self-concept of myself now?  Low-self esteem is there..you know...But I'm learning how to paint now...And I believe finding "something" new is "Essential" to beating the Low-self esteem problem.  Re-learning is an essential requirement in order to relearn self-pride...right?  So, I'm pushing the guitar playing away and Pushing-myself to accept the changes due to my TBI.  But I know I am greatful to God...that I still have the ability to do something else...through "learning!"  So...Don't give up on anything....Self esteem is a learned-behavior...YOur not born with it...you have to "Achieve it by relearning something different and Cool!"  Life's damn tough sometimes..but I'm gonna let something hold me back in this life!  And you can do it!  I know you can....

I had a Neurological test in the V.A. Hospital in Portland Oregon about 1.5 years ago...It was pretty tough...and weird...I had to do all sorts of things like tap my left finger as fast as possible...remember all kinds of words be told to me   and do it quickly as possible.  I was told that I do have Dementia...from my TBI I got in Sept 2008.  Its was tough...to take this test...yeah....In fact the difficulties of the tests are also intended to make you tired...causing your TBI deficits, like mine be short term memory deficits.......I'm 57 years old now....my brain was already losing memory.  My TBI accelerated my memory issues by 20 or so years......Oh well, Gotta keep push forward....Hope you doing okay....."We're Survivors....Let's fight for Us!!!!

Hi JACKIE,   I found that I have not yet replied to your question about how your disability is an A$$ET..I gave you only one small idea about  how this works by saying that  my aide is an A$$ET... that only scratched the surface.

If you want to know me let know.

LOVE

FF

Hi JACKIE thanks for your reply... I just set you out a request that we become friends with a brief statement of how I would like to answer your question about how your disability is an A$$ET.. if you want to know more  then we should talk  or at least email each other my phone number is 585-482-8833  my email address is iamfantasticfrank@gmail.com  now I've got to go since one of my aides who is an A$$$ET is here..

LOVE

FF

                                                                                          March 30, 2011

Hello Jackie,

I had a TBI twenty years ago auto accident. The self esteem, self confidence will

get better in time. MAY GOD BLESS YOU.

Always.

Stephen Korczak- a TBI Survivor