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<!--Brain Injury Support
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<a href="http://www.bisga.org"><b>Brain Injury Support Group Alliance</b></a>.
The brain Injury Support
Group Alliance grew out of the need for an organization that focuses on
the development and reinforcement of peer-to-peer support groups for persons
who experience the consequences of brain injury.
The founder of this
organization has been involved in peer support for more than 20 years. This
organization has been built to serve the needs of the people.
We have established new
support groups, developed tools for all groups to use and have even created an
email support group.
The work we've begun has
prompted others to focus on the development of support groups. This can be a
good thing if the persons who benefit from the group also control the
operation, direction and goals of the group. Otherwise it is only an extension
of the medical model of controlled therapy and the "pros know best" mentality.
"Peer" support is our aim.
Not therapeutic application of textbook solutions. Persons who are affected by
brain injury, either by personal injury or the injury sustained by a loved one
are best suited to share their experiences and solutions to problems. A united
effort conducted by "peers" is the most powerful force on this planet.
How to Navigate This
Brain Injury Support Site
You can use the links in the
left margin of each page to locate specific information within this tbi
website. Every page has a link to this page. Each page also has link buttons
to other pages in this Brain Injury Support site. Our
Site Map contains links to every page in our brain injury peer support
group alliance site. If you are returning to visit a particular page, you can
find a link to it there.
We know that head trauma,
concussion and brain injury can leave individuals who experience cognitive
impairments with many questions. We might not have all of the answers that you
need about head injury and brain trauma, however, we hope that we can help you
to find the answers. We have linked to many other Brain Injury related sites
to give you current, up to date Head Injury and Brain Trauma information and
resources.
If you need up-to-date
information about issues pertaining to concussion, Acquired Brain Injury
(ABI), Head injury and Peer-to-Peer Support, we may be able to help you.
Email us your comments!
This Brain
Injury Support Group Alliance site is designed to be easy to navigate. Feel
free to contact us with any comments, questions or concerns.
We have provided
an
email sign-up for the TBI Support Group Alliance newsletter, B-NEWS. If
you are a parent looking for information about education alternatives for your
child living with brain injury, please visit our (soon to be developed)
Education page.
If the above
hyper link does not work, please copy and paste the following into your
browser:
listserv.tbinet.org/scripts/wa-tbinet.exe?SUBED1=b-news&A=1
Global need for peer-to-peer support.
People sustain
brain injuries every day. Statistics vary, yet the number of reported cases of
acquired head injury and brain trauma is staggering. Some people survive tbi
while others die. For many of the tbi survivors, life is never the same again
for them or for the people in their lives.
We emphasize
self-empowerment through acquiring accurate, up to date information pertaining
to head injury, concussion and brain injury issues. We promote brain injury
prevention education, gaining understanding about tbi, taking action regarding
brain injury advocacy issues, head injury, concussion and brain injury support
group development, and personal involvement.
Self-determination, perseverance and a willingness to adapt to changing
circumstances and situations gives strength to the people who experience
concussion, head injury and brain injury. Every person alive is at risk.
Regardless of social status, economic conditions, education, race, religious
affiliation, male or female, young or not, brain injury happens! No one is
immune. The only cure right now is prevention.
Let us know what you want to see if it is not here.
This brain
injury peer support site is evolving. As time permits, we will modify and
expand it to better serve you. We want to meet the needs of the people who are
recovering from traumatic brain injury. Please point out any errors or broken
links so that we can make corrections as needed.
Email Webmaster to report any problems.
Operation: Empowerment is not dead. Thank you Andrea.
Browse This Site
We have included
many pages of information about our organization, our mission and our vision.
We have a hyperlink library which may provide a valuable resource to those who
are interested in obtaining additional information about the many facets of:
-
Brain injury
-
Treatment
-
Resources
-
Support services
-
Other
organizations
-
Education
-
Employment
-
and more
We are always
open to constructive input from our visitors. Please send all observations
about this Brain Injury Alliance site to:
site comments.
We will continue
to update this traumatic brain injury site in an effort to provide accurate,
up to date, relevant information to our visitors. We welcome your suggestions,
remarks and ideas. Just
email your comments to us.
Please let us
know how we may we be of service to you. We have been helping people to
become all they can be after TBI for more than twenty years. How may we help
you?
Support Group Development
If you are interested in helping to create or facilitate new peer support
groups, please
click here to contact John Pistorius.
We have free tools available for people interested in
developing a peer support group or focus group meeting. Members of BRAIN TRUST
provide hands on assistance, email newsletter notification, aid in generating
Meeting Notice Posters, Brochures, Press Releases and
much more.
Back to the top of this page
* * *
Mission
The Brain Injury Support Group
Alliance is a people-oriented non profit organization for persons with
disabilities, to eliminate barriers to full participation in society and to
promote enjoyment of the rights and freedoms guaranteed by the US
Constitution, by increasing the number of peer to peer support groups and by
streamlining the process of leadership development, and the process of
creating, operating, facilitating and maintaining peer directed support
groups for people with disabilities and their care givers.
Vision
A world where organized peer
support is understood, available, and accessible to all persons who experience
brain injury and where functional needs are addressed to accommodate persons
in society to overcome recovery obstacles.
How?
The leadership of the Brain
Injury Support Group Alliance focuses on overcoming barriers to full
participation in society through peer directed, peer-to-peer support groups.
We have adopted a 'No Victim' approach to recovery from brain injury. We
advocate for rising above recovery obstacles and becoming barrier free. We
encourage self-empowerment through education, raising public awareness,
increasing self-awareness and encouraging self-determination.
Whether you have sustained a brain trauma or if your loved one has acquired
brain injury, we aim to provide a forum for creating and strengthening peer
directed support groups, improving advocacy efforts, expanding brain injury
related education, and identifying brain injury prevention strategies.
Peer Support services are provided by persons with disabilities and/or
family members who are or have been consumers of medical and/or rehabilitation
services and those who might benefit from these types of services. Our
assistance may include personalized training and tools to improve peer
support.
Individual groups are autonomous. Members may help one another with more
effectively accessing and utilizing the medical and/or rehabilitation service
delivery system including,
- identifying needs,
- finding available funding,
- accessing supports,
- partnering with persons working in professional disciplines,
- and overcoming service barriers.
Persons with disabilities share understanding and may aid others in coping
with the stressors of the disability through meetings with other people
affected by similar disability.
Terminology
Many of the following terms are used on this site: BISGA,
Brain Injury Support, Brain Injury Support Group, Brain Injury Support Group
Alliance, BIA, Brain Injury Alliance, Brain Injury Association, head injury,
brain injury, head and brain injury, severe brain trauma, tbi, peer support,
acquired brain injuries, traumatic brain injuries, sports injuries, child
abuse, spousal abuse, domestic violence, concussion, brain swelling, lack of
oxygen, neck injury, spinal injury, unconsciousness, skull fracture, partial
paralysis, seizure, memory loss, dizziness, vomiting, anxiety, persistent
memory loss, concussion stories, aphasia, brain damage stories, amnesia, coma,
memory deficits, seizure, traumatic brain injury, concussion, head injury,
tbi, coma, brain stem injury, lesions, short term memory, second impact
syndrome, post concussion syndrome, pcs, loss of consciousness, knocked out,
brain damage, shaken baby, safe kids, stroke, tumors, helmets, head pain,
headache, post traumatic stress disorder, ptsd, help, electric shock,
lightning strike, near drowning, ringing in ears, tinnitus, vestibular
disorders, double vision, spinal cord injury, sci, toxic inhalation, chemical
sensitivity, inhalant abuse, huffing, sniffing, speech pathology,
rehabilitation, cognitive rehabilitation, neurological rehabilitation,
neuropsychiatry test, research, neuropsychological, self help, support groups,
forums, chat, network, disability, handicap, fitness, health, wellness, and
whiplash.
Some of these phrases are general terms in relationship
to traumatic brain injury and the consequences of TBI. Others are more
specific to Traumatic Brain Injury. Some are general terms related to all
causes of brain injury.
While no two injuries to the human brain are absolutely
identical, the consequences of brain injury can be identical, regardless of
the causes or severity. Labeling a person with traumatic brain injury can
create barriers that prevent the individual from accessing funding for
services to address their functional needs. Throughout this website, specific
causes of brain injury are not focused on. Instead, I've made every attempt to
raise the need for a "functional need" based approach to addressing issues
that surround brain injury regardless of the causes.
I believe the functional-needs based approach must be
adopted to fully triumph over the barriers to individual recovery. In the end,
we will have conquered the so-called "Silent Epidemic" with compassion for all
persons who experience brain injury regardless of the event or circumstances
that caused it.. We are not vegetables, we are people. We are human beings
entitled to equal rights with all American citizens, regardless of our
abilities.
Use the
following link to return to the top of this page.
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Copyright © 2005-06 John
Pistorius. All rights reserved. Please cite the source when sharing
information found here with others.
Revised:
February 19, 2008 07:56 PM
This brain injury support site has been designed and is maintained by
John
Pistorius using Microsoft FrontPage software.
Persons interested in making in-kind donations can
click here.
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