Navigating Reasonable Accommodations:
Preparing for Return-to-Work After Brain Injury
A Resource for People with Brain Injury, Employers, and Grantees of the Administration on Disabilities (AoD)
August 2025
Authored by: Maria Crowley, MA, CRC
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About this Resource
For many with brain injury, returning to work is more common than starting a new employment journey, since 70% of individuals who have brain injury are of working age, and one-third of all brain injury happens to adults of working age who are already employed.[1] Research strongly indicates that brain injury can negatively affect work, that people are employed less often, and when employed, often have difficulties in meeting the physical, cognitive, or psychosocial demands of the workplace.[2] This resource outlines how individuals returning to work after brain injury can better prepare, and find support through resources and reasonable accommodations from their employer. Through careful self-assessment of current challenges and dialogue with their employer to navigate the accommodations process when needed, people with brain injury can retain employment.
About the Author
Maria Crowley, MA, CRC, is the Director of Professional Development for the National Association of State Head Injury Administrators (NASHIA) and primary consultant for the Administration for Community Living (ACL) Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) Technical Assistance and Resource Center, supporting TBI State Partnership Program Grantees and other partners. In her career in the disabilities field she has helped individuals in home, community, and employment, first as Business Relations Consultant, then State Head Injury Program Director in Alabama, and currently with NASHIA. She has led a number of initiatives related to brain injury and employment, behavioral health, advocacy, program coordination, professional development, and data collection within business, state government, and partner settings. Her experience includes budget operations, pediatric and adult staff supervision, program guidance, and resource development.
[1]  Alves, D.E., Nilsen, W., Fure, S.C.R., Enehaug. H., Howe, E.I., Løvstad, M., Fink, L., Andelic, N., & Spjelkavik, Ø. (2020). What characterizes work and workplaces that retain their employees following acquired brain injury? Occupational and Environmental Medicine. 77(2). pp.122-130. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31907293/.
[2]Â U.S. Department of Justice. Introduction to the Americans with Disabilities Act: Employment. ADA.gov. https://www.ada.gov/topics/intro-to-ada/#employment.