National Brain Injury Employment Conference Offers Inspiration and Resources

CTAT, a program of Denver Options, hosted the exciting third annual National Brain Injury Employment Conference in Denver last month. This conference created a unique forum, bringing experts from around the country together to offer ideas and strategies on finding meaningful work and renewed purpose in life after a brain injury. Denver Options has several brain injury related programs, including a skill building training series and critically needed care coordination to Coloradans and returning military with traumatic brain injury (TBI). “We know it’s challenging to adjust to brain injury. Often people have to give up the jobs they did before the injury. We offer a wide array of new work options by building bridges to supports and opportunity,” said Nancy Freeman, conference coordinator and CTAT educator at Denver Options.

Opening speakers Carol Graham and Diane Van Deren shared very different stories with an audience of military and civilian brain injury survivors, family members and professionals. Carol Graham talked about her son Jeff, a young man who lost his life fighting in Iraq. Tragically, she and her husband, General Mark Graham, also lost their youngest son Kevin. Carol Graham told her painful story to a group who understood that everything in life is fragile. Her invitation to be aware of others’ needs and to reach out to families who have experienced similar losses resonated with everyone gathered.

Diane Van Deren, a North Face athlete, chronicled her life as a mother of three and as someone who battled severe epilepsy. After ten years of relentless seizures, Diane opted to undergo radical brain surgery to remove part of her right temporal lobe. She reflected on how her illness and her unconventional treatment affected her family and her return to competitive sports. Diane now competes in 100-mile trail runs, snowshoe races and was a contender in the Iditarod Trail Invitational in Alaska. These speakers began an inspirational and education-filled two days.

Session tracks for survivors and families, military and professionals offered education and resources to meet the unique needs of each audience group. Military-focused sessions included a panel discussion with experts Jennifer Anderson and Christen Mason, both TBI program managers at Denver Options, who authored a paper on reverse culture shock. Their findings, which appeared in the Journal of Head Trauma Rehabilitation, provided insight into the complex responses returning military experience after combat tours. Families learned about interactive structured treatments, social competence therapy and job resources. Professionals in the brain injury field benefited from discussion about the latest research and creative approaches to successful disability employment strategies.

One conference attendee had this to say about the experience: “The conference is exactly what I needed and was looking for, THANK YOU! I enjoyed the speakers; they were motivational, empathetic and educational. I liked the variety of options for breakout sessions; I attended sessions in each area and found them helpful. See you next year.”

Mark your calendars for next year’s conference in Denver on June 16-17, 2010. See our website at www.ctat-training.com for continuing conference information.