A BRAIN INJURY ID CARD is now available from the State of Maine’s Secretary of State Office.
The primary goal behind the ID card is for an individual to have something with the State seal on it to show if need be. Many survivors have spoken about encountering law enforcement and other situations where the symptoms of their brain injury caused challenges (not being able to communicate quickly/effectively, especially in a very stressful situation; gait issues; slurred speech; behavioral differences; etc.) where it was presumed they were intoxicated, belligerent, etc., and which resulted in escalated situations and often fear for the survivor’s safety.
The hope is that by being able to easily show someone official documentation of a brain injury, it could help the brain injury survivor communicate and hopefully reduce the number of escalated situations that could result from misinterpretation of brain injury symptoms.
These ID cards are voluntary and have the State seal on them. The application is available on the SOS’s Bureau of Motor Vehicles’ site (on the Forms and Applications page). A $5 fee, payable to the Maine Secretary of State by check or money order, should be included with the application and mailed to the address at the bottom of the form.