For More on Brain Injury ...
- BIAA: Brain Injury Association of America
- BIAO: Brain Injury Association of Ohio
- Brain Injury Partners: Navagating the School System
- Center for Neuro Skills TBI Resource Guide
- FCTD: Family Center on Technology and Disability
- Heads Up: Brain Injury in Your Practice
- Helping Kids Brains
- LEARNet: Brain Injury Resource
- NCIPC: National Center for Injury Prevention and Control
- NICHCY: Traumatic Brain Injury Section
- NINDS: Traumatic Injury Information Page
- National Association of State Head Injury Administrators
- North American Brain Injury Society
- Ohio Legal Rights Service: TBI Section
- Ohio Valley Center for Brain Injury Prevention and Rehabilitation
Brain Injury Association of America
Founded in 1980, the Brain Injury Association of America (BIAA) is the leading national organization serving and representing individuals, families and professionals who are touched by a life-altering, often devastating, traumatic brain injury (TBI). Together with its network of more than 40 chartered state affiliates, as well as hundreds of local chapters and support groups across the country, the BIAA provides information, education and support to assist the 5.3 million Americans currently living with traumatic brain injury and their families.
Resource: Brain Injury Association of America: toll free: 800.444.6443; e-mail: braininjuryinfo@biausa.org; Web site: www.biausa.org.
Brain Injury Association of Ohio
The Brain Injury Association of Ohio is a statewide advocacy and education organization incorporated in 1982 to improve services and supports to Ohioans with brain injury and their families, and to promote prevention. BIAOH is comprised of survivors, family members, friends and professionals working together to promote better understanding, rehabilitation opportunities and lifelong community supports to assist an individual in living as fully and independently as possible.
The Brain Injury Association of Ohio (BIAOH) was established to address the problems faced by individuals with brain injury and their families. BIAOH also supports the professional community, advocates and supporters.
These sections listed above were organized to provide links to the specific areas that would most interest our diverse audience. Click on the phrase above that best describes you.
BIAOH is one of forty-three state brain injury associations affiliated with the Brain Injury Association of America, Inc., based in Alexandria, Virginia.
The Community Support Network program is the Brain Injury Association of Ohio's plan to extend and enhance its information, resource identification and outreach services by placing field staff in 15 geographic areas which encompass all of Ohio's 88 counties.
Resource: biaoh.org/
Brain Injury Partners: Navagating the School System
Brain Injury Partners: Navigating the School System is designed to give parents of school-aged children with a brain injury the skills they need to become successful advocates.
The site includes an interactive tutorial based on the Family Advocacy Skills Training program. Parents can learn ways to communicate better with school staff in order to get what their child needs. The acronym "PILOT" is easy to remember, because it stands for Prepare, Identify Both Sides, Listen, Overcome Obstacles, and Think Reflectively. The PILOT tutorial is filled with up to two hours of instruction.
The program was funded by the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development and made in collaboration with the Brain Injury Association of America.
Visit http://free.braininjurypartners.com/
Centre for Neuro Skills TBI Resource Guide
The Centre for Neuro Skills TBI Resource Guide contains a wealth of information regarding brain injury, treatment and rehabilitation. The Web site overviews the various programs and services provided, but the resources listed are their own source of updated information. The site offers an extensive pharmacological search engine, and links to all types of resources, such as support groups, chat rooms, equipment and software, journals and newsletters, neuroscience, and more.
Resource: Center for Neuro Skills TBI Resource Guide: www.neuroskills.com
Family Center on Technology and Disability
The Family Center is a resource designed to support organizations and programs that work with families of children and youth with disabilities. We offer a range of information and services on the subject of assistive technologies. Organizations, parents, and educators will find information that supports efforts to bring the highest quality education to children with disabilities.
The Family Center Knowledge Network is comprised of more than 3,000 organizations that share a concern for the families of children with disabilities. Network members are committed to providing useful information and resources to help children fulfill their potential. The Family Center strives to make sure that Network members receive the most current information on developments in the field of assistive technology.
The Family Center on Technology and Disability center offers assistive technology resources on CD ROM, an online conference series, monthly newsletters, a research database, and a member database. There are also fact sheets and PowerPoints.
Resource: Family Center on Technology and Disability: www.fctd.info.
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Heads Up: Brain Injury in Your Practice
At least 1.4 million people sustain traumatic brain injuries in this country every year. Of those, approximately 1.1 million, or 75 percent, sustain a mild traumatic brain injury (MTBI). Yet, many are not hospitalized or receive no medical care at all. An unknown proportion of those who are not hospitalized may experience long-term problems such as persistent headache, pain, fatigue, vision or hearing problems, memory problems, confusion, sleep disturbances, or mood changes.
The CDC, working with a number of partners, has developed a new physician tool kit to improve clinical diagnosis and management of MTBI. Physicians can play a key role in helping to reduce the occurrence of MTBI by educating patients and the community about risks and injury prevention.
Heads Up: Brain Injury in Your Practice, is available free of charge. The kit contains practical, easy-to-use clinical information, patient information in English and Spanish, scientific literature, and a CD-ROM. Information is also available online for patients and physicians.
Resource: Heads Up: Brain Injury in Your Practice:www.cdc.gov/ncipc/pub-res/tbi_toolkit/toolkit.htm
Helping Kids Brains (helpingkidsbrains.org) ia a Web site established by Sharon Grandinette, M.S., after working with exceptional children for 25 years. Sharon has an extensive background in the field of special education in public and non-public schools and in the post-acute brain injury health care field. The Web site offers information and resources for parents and educators.
Resource: /www.helpingkidsbrains.com/
LEARNet Problem-Solving System and Resource Website
LEARNet is is a problem-solving system designed to help teachers, clinicians, parents and students identify useful procedures for helping students with brain injury in school and at home. The site, develped by the Brain Injury Association of New York State, offers tutorials, suggestions, information about the brain, and separate sections designed to offer children, parents, and teachers information relevant to their needs.
The site offers a Problem-Solving Video Introduction to help users gain knowledge of how to utilize the system to its fullest extent. Users can click a behavior and the site will offer possible reasons for that behavior along with teaching strategies to reinforce learning.
Resource: LEARNet: http://www.bianys.org/learnet/
National Center for Injury Prevention and Control
Injuries have been a leading cause of death and disability throughout history; consequently, many people and agencies have undertaken prevention efforts. In 1985, the National Research Council and the Institute of Medicine (IOM) recognized the need for a coordinated effort to prevent injuries in the United States. They identified the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) as the federal agency best suited to lead injury research. CDC had a strong history of interdisciplinary research, data collection and analysis, information sharing, and relationships with states—elements the council and IOM deemed important. And unlike other federal agencies involved in injury prevention, CDC had no regulatory or enforcement role.
The National Center for Injury Prevention and Control functions as the focal point for the public health approach to preventing and treating injuries, a paradigm that enriches the entire injury field.
Resource: www.cdc.gov/injury/index.html
NICHCY's Traumatic Brain Injury Section
The National Dissemination Center for Children with Disabilities (NICHCY) provides information and resources for parents of children with disabilities, educators, service providers and others. The information includes fact sheets, research information and links.
The section on Traumatic Brain Injury defines TBI, answers questions relating to the disorder, offers information about the characteristics and signs of TBI, and posts tips for parents and teachers.
Resource: Traumatic Brain Injury (NICHCY)
NINDS Traumatic Brain Injury Section
The National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS) conducts TBI research in its laboratories at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and also supports TBI research through grants to major medical institutions across the country. This research involves studies in the laboratory and in clinical settings to better understand TBI and the biological mechanisms underlying damage to the brain. This research will allow scientists to develop strategies and interventions to limit the primary and secondary brain damage that occurs within days of a head trauma, and to devise therapies to treat brain injury and improve long-term recovery of function.
Resource: /www.ninds.nih.gov/disorders/tbi/tbi.htm
National Association of State Head Injury Administrators
Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is a significant public health problem with more than 1.4 million injuries occurring each year and at least 3.17 million Americans currently living with a long-term or lifelong need for help to perform activities of daily living as a result of a TBI.
TBI is a complex disability that challenges States’ ability to respond to the needs of persons with TBI and their families. These individuals need services that cross multiple programs including Medicaid, vocational rehabilitation, employment, education, home health care, mental health, substance abuse, and long-term care programs. Without coordinated systems of care, individuals are often placed inappropriately into nursing homes or left to the families to care for without much support or assistance. When families are no longer able to care for these individuals, the families turn to the State, which is generally the only resource for these crisis situations.
In 1990 NASHIA became the first and remains the only forum addressing State government’s significant role in brain injury. NASHIA is the premier source of information and education for State Agency employees who are responsible for public brain injury policies, programs, and services. NASHIA is also the voice of State government in Federal TBI policy issues.
NASHIA reaches out to all State Agency employees who interact with individuals with brain injury and welcomes membership by advocates, professionals, and organizations with an interest in State and local policy and service delivery.
Resource: www.nashia.org
North American Brain Injury Society
The North American Brain Injury Society (NABIS) is a society comprised of professional members involved in the care or issues surrounding brain injury. NABIS was created specifically to address the needs of multidisciplinary professionals dedicated to brain injury - providing education programs, scientific updates and a platform for communication and professional exchange. NABIS welcomes the opportunity to work with other brain injury groups to address the key issues for professionals in North America.
Brain Injury Professional is the largest professional circulation publication on the subject of brain injury and is the official publication of the North American Brain Injury Society. Brain Injury Professional is published jointly by NABIS and HDI Publishing is the journal of the North American Brain Injury Society.
The NABIS Web site also is a resource for parents and professionals. The site offers Brain Injury Facts, as recorded from around the world, a list of books and publications from HDI, and events and conference on brain injury and related topics.
Resource: North American Brain Injury Society: www.nabis.org/
Ohio Legal Rights Service: TBI Section
The Ohio Legal Rights Service (OLRS) Web site offers information and resources on brain injury and TBI. These include the following:
- National and State Brain Injury and Neurological Web site links
- Students with TBI - Thriving Beyond Injury: A Guide for Parents and Schools Working Together to Improve Special Education Services for Students with Traumatic Brain Injury (publication and online resource)
- The State of Ohio's Needs and Resource Assessment (report and online report)
OLRS is an independent state agency that was created to protect and advocate the rights of people with mental disabilities. It is Ohio's federally designated Protection and Advocacy system and Client Assistance Program. Program staff include ombudspersons, disability rights advocates, and attorneys who advocate for individual and systemic change through individual, group and class action cases, monitoring policies and legislative activity, and education and training.
Resource: olrs.ohio.gov
Ohio Valley Center for Brain Injury Prevention and Rehabilitation
The Ohio Valley Center conducts research, provides education and develops programs to improve the quality of life of persons who experience traumatic brain injury. The Center serves individuals, families and professionals throughout North America.
While damage to the brain as a result of an external force has occurred throughout time, significant improvements in emergency medical and neurosurgical techniques in the 1970's created dramatic increases in the number of persons surviving serious traumatic brain injury. These advances in medical science and emergency service delivery resulted in an equally dramatic increase in young people (those most likely to be injured and most likely to survive) with long-term disabilities as a result of traumatic brain injury. Recognizing and meeting the needs of this relatively new population of persons who have serious brain injuries, apparently normal life expectancies, but long-term disabilities, remains the primary challenge for community integration after traumatic brain injury.
The Ohio Valley Center is located at the Ohio State University in the Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation. Projects encompass several areas of emphasis: outcomes research, substance abuse, state capacity, resource and service coordination, and use of the Internet.
Resource: Ohio Valley Center Web site: www.ohiovalley.org
Resource: The Traumatic Brain Injury Model Systems National Data and Statistical Center (TBINDSC): www.tbindsc.org/Default.aspx