2009 Annual Conference - Friday Schedule

Presentations and Downloads • Thursday Evening Event

Friday Conference Schedule

8 - 9 a.m. -Registration and Exhibits Open

9 - 10:30 a.m. - Keynote Address

Progesterone and the Brain
Donald Stein, Ph.D., will discuss recent and interesting findings as to the benefits of progesterone, an agent affecting many CNS functions. Progesterone, although still widely considered a sex hormone, acting as a neurosteroid, can promote repair after TBI, stroke and other injury models. Come hear how progesterone is being used to treat people with TBI and how it warrants further investigation.

10:30 - 11 a.m. - Break and Exhibits Open

11 a.m. - 12:15 p.m. - Breakout Session I

1. Progesterone and the Brain
   Donald Stein, Ph.D., Emory University School of Medicine
   This breakout session will provide a more intensive discussion of mechanisms of action of progesterone and its metabolites in CNS repair. Highlights will include the problems and prospects for using hormones in the potential treatment of other CNS disorders and the theories of plasticity and localization of function in the brain.
   
   
2. Evidence-Based Cognitive Rehabilitation
   Thomas Bergquist, Ph.D., ABBP; Stephanie Ritter OTR, Mayo Clinic
   Cognitive rehabilitation (CR) has become a mainstay in brain rehabilitation, but its practice is not always based upon the growing literature on best practices in this area. This session will present systematic literature reviews completed by the Brain Injury Special Interest Group of the American Congress of Rehabilitation Medicine: a leader in evidence-based practice in cognitive rehabilitation. Specific practice recommendations will be reviewed addressing attention, visuoperception, language/communication, memory and problem solving as well as multi-modal interventions and comprehensive-holistic programs. This review will be followed by case studies demonstrating how practice guidelines can be put directly into every day clinical practice.
   
   
3. Consumer Panel — Living your Life: Family and Survivor Perspectives on TBI
   Susan McGuigan; Patrick McGuigan
   Patrick McGuigan, an individual living with TBI, and Susan McGuigan, a family member, will discuss each other’s perspectives on best practices for living a productive life after TBI. Topics will include developing an effective family and care provider collaboration, goal setting for each stage of recovery, balancing the need for independence with the desire for safety, reconciling the old life with the new life, and other topics.
   
   
4. Shaken Baby Survivors — School Issues During Adolescent Years
   Kim Kang, Public Policy and Early Childhood Director, PACER
   The effects of shaken baby syndrome (SBS), a brain injury caused by child abuse, vary greatly from child-to-child and depend on the severity of the abuse. Despite this, very few long-term studies have addressed SBS's long-term effects. This session provides a parent’s perspective of their child’s injury and addresses the challenges and successes within the school system.
   
   
5. Brain Death and Organ Donation: Do You Know What to Do and Say?
   Suzanne Owens-Pikes, Chaplain Hennepin County Medical Center; Carol Ann Smith, Program Coordinator, TBI Center Hennepin County Medical Center; Ann Lovdahl, SLP, Lifesource
   Severe traumatic brain injury does not always have the outcome we would wish for. This session will focus on the legal definition and declaration of brain death, donation after cardia death, referral process for organ donation, role of the organ procurement organization (OPO) and most importantly, the communication process between the medical staff, OPO and the family. We will describe a "Family Communication Protocol" to be used in discussing this emotional and confusing topic.
   
   
6. Executive Skills from the Treatment Setting to the Community
   Norman Cohen, Ph.D., Courage Center; Nicole Lainhart, SLP, Coordinator Reintegration Program, Courage Center; Linda Griffith, MOT, OTR/L, Courage Center; Jennifer Kahn, Community Reintegration Program, Courage Center
   Executive skills are often impacted following brain injury, leading to impairment of daily living abilities. This session defines executive skills, gives neuroanatomic background and advances on the practical, including: what executive deficits truly look like; innovative treatment tasks to enhance client skills; how actual experiences in the community both enhances learning and rewards the hard work of changing one’s behavior and habits. Outcome data demonstrating this treatment’s efficacy will also be presented.

12:15 - 1:15 p.m. - Lunch

1:15 - 2:30 p.m. - Breakout Session II

1. Challenges in Neuropsychological Assessment Across Diverse Populations: An Open Discussion of the Issues: Seeking Solutions
   Robert Karol, Ph.D., Director, Psychology/Neuropsychology and Brain Injury Services, Bethesda Hospital; Erwin Concepcion, Ph.D., LP, Co-Occurring Services Policy Consultant, DHS Adult Mental Health; Sheila Faricy, Manager of Independent Living, Peer Mentoring, Ramp Project Program, Transition and VA Programs, Metropolitan Center for Independent Living
   This town hall-style session will highlight challenges that consumers of neuropsychological assessment should be aware of when considering referral for testing, using assessment findings, or implementing recommendations of evaluations that require interpretation to and from another language, or across cultures
   
   
2. An Introduction to Universal Design for Learning
   Janet Peters, Project Coordinator on Accessible Technology, DBTAC: Great Lakes ADA Center
   This session will address inception and key terminology of Universal Design for Learning (UDL), how UDL can identify and remove barriers to learning in the classroom for students with brain injuries and strategies for getting started with UDL. The origins of UDL draw on the historical application of universal design in architecture, the latest in brain research applied to learning and emerging insights about digital media and technology in the classroom.
   
   
3. Contemporary Neuroimaging of TBI
   Paul Broadbent, MD, Center for Diagnostic Imaging; Ronald Pobiel, MD, Center for Diagnostic Imaging; Blake A. Johnson, MD, Center For Diagnostic Imaging
   This session will review conventional and advanced imaging techniques for evaluating patients with traumatic brain injury.
   
   
4. Assisted Living: Housing with Services
   Jennifer Samaha, MSW, LISW, Accessible Space Inc.
   This session will address the advantage of using Assisted Living services for persons with brain injury in neighborhood-based settings. It also will address successful practices in encouraging resident choice and recognized risks as well as outline elements of Housing and Urban Development funded subsidized housing proposals. In 20 years of service experience, Assisted Living offers a new option to learning transferable skills.
   
   
5. 2009 Legislative Session Update
   Jeff Nachbar, Public Policy Director, Brain Injury Association of Minnesota
   This session will provide an update and information on the 2009 legislative session as it pertains to the status of the Association's advocacy efforts. Key topics will include the current status of health and human service funding in the state budget, including progress on brain injury prevention and special education. Other topics currently under consideration by legislators at the State Capitol will also be highlighted.
   
   
6. Mild TBI
   Sarah B. Rockswold, MD, Medical Director, Mild to Moderate Traumatic Brain Injury Program, Hennepin County Medical Center
   Of the 1.5 million traumatic brain injuries sustained in the United States each year, over 75 percent are mild. This session focuses on the definition, pathophysiology and management of mild traumatic brain injury. Proper evaluation to diagnose mild TBI is key and the management of symptoms is complex. This will be discussed in depth as well as testing, patient education, treatment challenges and return to work, school and play.

2:30 - 3:15 p.m. - Break and Exhibits Open

3:15 - 4:30 p.m. - Breakout Session III

1. Walking The Path of Collaboration
   Ruthie Dallas, Planner Principal/Women Services Consultant, Minnesota Department of Human Services (DHS), Chemical and Mental Health Administration; Betty Poitra, Principal Planner/Program Consultant, Minnesota DHS, Chemical Health Division, Department of American Indian Programs
   This session will identify strategies in the areas of outreach, technical assistance and training to better serve individuals with a co-occurring diagnosis of chemical dependency and brain injury and emphasizes the continued need for collaboration among the areas of alcohol and drug abuse, behavioral health, and disability services. It also will increase the awareness of the importance in working with Native Americans with co-occurring brain injury/mental illness/substance use disorders and address the cultural nuances of working with Native Americans regarding areas such as labeling, stereotyping, and stigmatization associated with these diagnoses.
   
   
2. Dual Diagnosis: Spinal Cord Injury and Traumatic Brain Injury
   Jackie Kawiecki, MD, MHA, Courage Center
   This session will discuss the epidemiology of dual diagnosis and its impact on rehabilitation, pharmacologic interventions to improve neurocognitive/behavioral issues and rehabilitation strategies to improve treatment and outcomes of the dual diagnosed patient.
   
   
3. "When I fall down, who will pick me up?" - Elders and TBI
   Jon Roesler, MS, Minnesota Department of Health (MDH); Ayo Adeniyi, MBBS, MPH; Leslie Seymour, MD, MPH Anna Gaichas, MS
   This first part of this session looks at a decade of data generated from 1998 through 2007 for lessons in prevention and rehabilitation of TBI in elders (65 and older). It will examine the relationship between elderly falls and TBI, hospitalizations and deaths in Minnesota, including the highlighting of the epidemiological and clinical characteristics of individuals who fall. The second part of the session will characterize elder TBI survivors in terms of their outcomes and participation in Resource Facilitation (RF) and examine the effect of aging on acute care outcomes of TBI. The MDH has previously described the determinants of RF participation in children and youth; this time we will examine the effects of aging on RF participation and suggest implications for more effective targeting of interventions to optimize outcomes.
   
   
4. Interactive Metronome
   LeeAnn Mateffy-Horn MS, OTR/L CBIS, Courage Center
   This session introduces a brain-based rehabilitation evaluation and training program called Interactive Metronome (IM). IM is used to improve a person’s processing ability that affects attention, sequencing and motor planning. This in turn improves cognitive abilities, motor skills, and oral and written language skills. Come learn how IM is utilized.
   
   
5. Launching a Successful Return to School and College/Adult Services
   Nancy Wagner, Ph.D., Gillette Childrens Speciality Healthcare; Carol D. Nelson, LSW, Gillette Lifetime Speciality Healthcare
   Returning to school and post secondary planning can be challenging for children and teens with brain injuries. Even mild brain injuries can result in behavioral and educational difficulties. This session will address the educational needs of students as they make the transition from hospital to home, highlight collaborative planning for a student’s return to school and address tools used to bridge the gaps in post secondary planning and transitioning to adult services.
   
   
6. Polytrauma Rehabilitation and the Minneapolis VA Medical Center
   Daniel Holland, Ph.D., MPH, Minneapolis VA Medical Center; Lindsay King, Ph.D., Minneapolis VA Medical Center
   This session will review the current status of brain injury rehabilitation services at the Minneapolis VA Medical Center and the structure of current issues being addressed in polytrauma. It also will cover the complexity of co-existing mild TBI and Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) in veterans.

Presentations and Downloads • Thursday Evening Event