BrainLine News - November 2009
November is Month of the Military Family, an annual tribute to the family members of those serving our country. It's also the beginning of the holiday season, when family togetherness, friendship, and community mean so much. Unfortunately, for people with a brain injury and their families, the holidays can sometimes come with stress, feelings of isolation, and social challenges. This month, we feature information for military families as well as resources on social skills and how to make being together happier and easier for everyone.
Parties and social gatherings can be fun, but they can also be over-stimulating and downright exhausting, especially for someone with a brain injury. Learn how to make social events safe, smooth, and happier for everyone.
Ask the Expert: Social Skills and the Holidays >>
Social Communication and TBI >>
Ask the Expert: Educating Others About Slurred Speech >>
Ask the Expert: Socializing Safely After TBI >>
Exclusive New Webcast from BrainLine
BrainLine's latest webcast, "Substance Abuse and TBI," features a dynamic discussion among Jan Brown, Dr. John Corrigan, and Captain Paul Hammer. Learn about the issues of drug and alcohol abuse and TBI — how together they can result in a vicious cycle and how prompt treatment can promote recovery. "Recovery [from substance abuse and TBI] is indeed possible, and don't ever give up," says Ms. Brown, an expert on addiction recovery and brain injury recovery. "Create a team of family, friends, and supports ... and then follow the instructions they give you."
Watch webcast >>
New PBS Show: Caregivers for Veterans with TBI
On November 20, NOW — PBS's weekly national news magazine show — will examine the issue of families acting as caregivers for service members with TBI. The show will profile several caregivers including a former teacher with a toddler son and a former research scientist, both looking at a lifetime of caring for their spouses with brain injuries. NOW will also talk with experts about advances in medical science that could help the thousands of families in this position. Stay tuned! BrainLine will feature a clip from this new show a few days before the November 20 television air date.
Check the PBS schedule >>
Month of the Military Family
Thousands of kids, spouses, and parents of military service members know that having a loved one deployed overseas can be stressful and challenging for the whole family. November marks the Month of the Military Family, held to honor the families of service members. The National Military Family Association website — "the voice for military families" — educates military families concerning the rights, benefits, and services available to them and informs them regarding the issues that affect their lives. The site includes resources and information on deployment, health care, family life issues, and more.
Read more >>
DVBIC News: Virtual TBI Clinic
Active duty service members at distant sites can now receive care through DVBIC's Virtual Traumatic Brain Injury (vTBI) Clinic. The vTBI clinic provides comprehensive screening, assessment, treatment, and management of TBI via interactive video-teleconferencing to service members in all branches of the military. For more information on these services and how they use today's new technologies, contact Dr. Matthew Gonzalez, director of DVBIC's vTBI clinic.
Contact Dr. Gonzalez >>
After a TBI, One Man's Brain on Music
"Did my brain injury make me a better songwriter?" So questions Jeff Shattuck after he injured his brain falling in his bathroom. In his essay, "Cerebellum Blues," originally published in Neurology Now magazine, Jeff ponders how the damage to his brain ignited his latent talent as a songwriter.
Read more and hear one of Jeff's new songs >>
For more information about TBI, please come visit us at BrainLine.org.
All the best from BrainLine.
Noel Gunther, Executive Director
Christian Lindstrom, Director, Learning Media
Victoria Youcha, EdD, Director, BrainLine
Victoria Tilney McDonough, Associate Editor
Elaine Phillips, MSP, CCC/SLP, Research Consultant
Theresa Rankin, Outreach Consultant
Brian King, Senior Multimedia Producer
Kimberley Larson, Web Designer
Ian Collins, Technical Web Manager
Leon Gittens, Project Administrator
Krystal Klingenberg, Project Coordinator
Newsletter editor: Victoria Tilney McDonough
About BrainLine
BrainLine is a service of WETA, the flagship public television and radio station in the nation's capital.
BrainLine.org is a WETA website funded by the Defense and Veterans Brain Injury Center, through a contract with the Henry M. Jackson Foundation. Government funding support is not an endorsement of WETA or any of its products, including this website.
This material is based upon work supported by the USAMRAA under Contract Number W81XWH-09-C-0026. Any opinions, findings and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the USAMRAA.