Stephanie McAdams, MA, CCC-SLP, and Antje Thiessen, MS, CCC-SLP, speech pathologists in the UNC Heath Care Rehabilitation Center, hosted a session at “Brain Injury 2008: Unraveling the Mystery” on October 31. The conference was sponsored by the Brain Injury Association of North Carolina and Wake AHEC.
“We emphasized moving outside of the treatment room and away from workbook approaches,” McAdams says.
McAdams also is a board member for the Brain Injury Association of North Carolina and the organization’s education chair.
Thiessen spoke about the use of technology in the treatment of patients with traumatic brain injury (TBI).
“We focused mostly on patients with mild TBI and suggested creative ways of using gadgets that most people already have, such as cell phones, watches and digital cameras,” Thiessen says.
In addition to contributing to the conference, the therapists learned from the other sessions.
“This conference addresses some of the current, most central issues related to TBI, including accurate diagnosis; we still need better means to identify and evaluate, especially with mild TBI, as well as comprehensive care for soldiers with TBI,” says Thiessen, who has been working on improving the identification of patients with mild TBI at UNC for the past two years.
“Trying to help people with traumatic brain injury is one of the most challenging and interesting aspects of my job,” Thiessen adds.
For more information, contact the Brain Injury Association of North Carolina.
