~ Three Words: 'i am ME dia!', Community, Trey's House!?
=Aloha Margaret,
Please understand the nature of my directness; i see your words as simply one direct source of Trey's recovery...a catalyst for the healing nature of our consciousness! Observing the ReGenerational Nature of Language (RGNL), a centered within a strong love of languages led to the discovery of particular triggers found in the brain, hence the mind (before epigenetics was publicly known), which possess the endocrinological-potential to rewrite core personality traits. i MYSELF previously ssstuusssttttered exxxxxxxtensively, uuuntil i was cured 'By the familiar me' in someone with a real concern for what i was before i was informed that stuttering had to be learned through behavioral conditioning rigors/triggers. [ini101.ds-Unpublished Open Source Study]
My husband works in a little gambling shack here in Portland. One of his regulars had a brain injury a long time ago - now, he spends his day gambling away his SSI money - just for the little social interaction he sees there. It's so sad. His stories all center around what he used to do. He never talks about the future, just the past. I don't think he even really sees a future for himself. He's just killing time now. I wish he had something like this program to go to. My heart breaks for him every time he comes in.
Good job on giving people back their hope.
----------
Remember, 'yes we did'; but there's still so much to do.
This initiative sounds like it is and will be very effective. Would you mind explaining a bit more about where the innovation is in your program? Also, I would love to hear more about where the 'nudge' is, as I am unclear as to where the behavioral change will happen.
I also wanted to let you know that Changemakers will be having a competition in the summer of 2009 around mental health issues, so I would be sure to be on the look out for that competition, as it seems like this might be very applicable to that competition as well.
Chloe, our members have been placed in group homes or adult day care centers where they sit and watch tv. People like that are doing what is expected of them, becoming fixtures, and not interacting except with other broken people. But, I can introduce you to three people that have had substantial brain injury, yet have returned to a fairly full life (even completing college degrees). Andi was 18 when she was in a car accident four years ago. In a deep coma for 2 months, her prognosis was so low Warm Springs Rehab would not admit her without strings being pulled. This semester, she returned to UTSA to continue her studies. Healing can take 10 and even 20 years, and the individual needs to have a real life place to go, to interact, to talk to dream, to live again. There is a place for them. There is hope for their lives. Our innovation is that we are not a structured program. We have access to programs like the jam session and open mic, programs that are open to the general public (and pulls the general public in) where our members can feel like anyone else. This allows them to participate, to actually reintegrate, with a safe space off to the back, where they can go if they become overwhelmed, or if they just aren't comfortable around others. 5.3 million Americans need to know the truth. That 10% of the brain we use allows for redundancies, where (given the chance) the functions can be regained to a degree. Yet, I talk to people all over the country, people who say the same thing...where is the hope? The doctors say plan on day care or group home. We say, "Stand behind the person, give them a safe place to go where they can interact publicly and the brain will adapt!" And, we say this as family and friends...not as medical providers!
These are the unedited words sent to me in an email recently, by a young man who suffered a TBI 11 years ago. I read and re-read these words because of what they are saying...This young man is a true hero...and he typifies our beliefs and our program. Tremendous words written by an incredible person!
"I understand the struggle. I have a speech impediment and when I am tired forget about it. My balance is horrible, my speech is slurred, and my thought process is not clear. I am alive though and trying to not get lost in the shuffle but rather live and enjoy life.
I know the majority of my healing took place within the first year after my accident. Who sets the limits though? Why can a person not continue to improve for .... As long as they want? Desire goes a long way. Where does strength and courage to face life come from? The fighting spirit and will.
They read me my last rights, they prepared my family for the worse and said I would die that first night. Then they told me that I would never walk again. Here I was a stud athlete barely walking two steps. My father could not watch.
Life is soooooo wonderful! All the experiences, feelings, and hopes for a better tomorrow make today worth fighting for."
Local TV station aired a news story about us, and though we cannot upload the video, we can include the link. To meet us and see what we are doing, go to:
I realize that when asked to explain our nudge, I was not clear.
Our nudge is in getting individuals with brain injury to realize that they count, that they can heal, and that there is hope. Just a few years ago, doctors and the powers that be said "Where you are in a year is where you will be forever." Today, they no longer say that. But, the prevailing attitude is that the damage is done, and the prognosis grim. But healing will happen. This is true even of those who have been institutionalized for years already!
Our nudge is also directed to the family and friends surrounding the injured person. By getting the families and friends to let go, that day care and group homes for most are warehousing, not stimulating and that the healing can continue.
When asked how we are different, what our innovation is, we sometimes get tongue tied. We are a drop in center, something that has been around a long time. Our innovation is that the drop in center is really a small part of our space, that the majority is dedicated to coffee house space, open to the general public, with evening programs that are also geared to the general public. By laying out our space this way, our members are encouraged to socially reintegrate in a public, yet safe environment. As one member put it, he always liked to go out, but aside from a bar, there is very little he can do with friends. At Treys House, we have a comfortable place to go, a place to meet friends as well as make friends, a place that is theirs.
Our coffee house is member run and member driven. While we have two full time (volunteer) staff, staff roles are to simply facilitate getting things done. We do not have a "program" we follow, we just have fun.
Returning to the community following a TBI can be challenging. The literature emphasizes that persistent cognitive impairments frequently impede successful community reintegration. Even those individuals who make significant gains in rehabilitation may experience difficulty when returning to premorbid activities. Community reintegration should emphasize a multidisciplinary approach, which also includes peers and family, in the attempt to close the gap between treatment activities and functional competence in the individual’s natural environment. The primary focus of community reintegration should be on what the individual with TBI needs to achieve for returning to work, school, and avocational interests (see sidebar above). Ongoing assessment of progress and modification of goals is critical to the success of any community reintegration program.
This unique and appearantly simplistic program has, by returning responsibility to individuals, created almost miracles in these individuals ability to return to being responsible citizens, rather than sick individuals needing round the clock care.
I have watched from the outside, and seen individuals go from almost non-verbal to laughing and telling jokes in a short period of time. The comeraderie developed among the members, staff, and volunteers has been truly wonderful.
Hello. My name is John Maisano and I would like to tell you about treys house. me and my friend, Jeanne, had heard about Treys House and I wanted to come see it. We cam and we looked around and there wasn't to much to it. Be that as it may, I signed up. After going a few times, I saw a big change in myself and others. I don't know what else I can say about it, except that I am glad it is available to me, it doesn't cost me anything, and it causes me to speak, even at night, when I am home. Normally, I watch TV and become a vegetable. But, at least when I come to Trey's house there are things to do. there is always something to talk about. In fact, I can give you an example. One time, margaret was talking about building a wall. I remember that I built a dog house for my dog, and remembered step by step how to do it, how to build the studs. Her and her husband followed my instructions and built it themselves. And that is something I am very proud of. It means a lot to me and to have the other members here to.
Margaret takes the advice of me, who is a former RN BSN and with that she takes the advice and suggestions of all the members which gives me my self esteem back. And now I am a part of a program i wanted that will help disabled people like me share housing instead of going into a group home. I feel like I have value again, and I take it upon myself to interact with others and to even interact at home. after my stroke, I thought my life had ended, which it did. But through some contact I made through the years to my friends, and the VA, I have learned how to live with the stroke. Treys house helps me do it publicly without any fear.
Regarding music and our jam sessions, I contacted the authors of a study published last year with a question. (ref: http://brain.oxfordjournals.org/cgi/content/abstract/131/3/866 for the full abstract). There is now quantifiable evidence to support music enhancining recovery in recent stroke patients. My question was regarding brain injury patients, and the reply I recieved from Teppo Sarkamo, Cognititve Brain Research Unit at the University of Helsinki, is as follows: "to answer you question, we have not yet done research on the use of music in brain injury patients, but I suspect that the mechanisms at least the emotional and motivational impact of music, are quite the same as in stroke patients. Especially for someone whose cognitive handicap is more related to attention and executive functioning, making music may well be the key for overcoming his or her deficits. Unfortunately, there has not been that much serious research to back this up. We still have a lot of work to do..."
Regarding music and our jam sessions, I contacted the authors of a study published last year with a question. (ref: http://brain.oxfordjournals.org/cgi/content/abstract/131/3/866 for the full abstract). There is now quantifiable evidence to support music enhancining recovery in recent stroke patients. My question was regarding brain injury patients, and the reply I recieved from Teppo Sarkamo, Cognititve Brain Research Unit at the University of Helsinki, is as follows: "to answer you question, we have not yet done research on the use of music in brain injury patients, but I suspect that the mechanisms at least the emotional and motivational impact of music, are quite the same as in stroke patients. Especially for someone whose cognitive handicap is more related to attention and executive functioning, making music may well be the key for overcoming his or her deficits. Unfortunately, there has not been that much serious research to back this up. We still have a lot of work to do..."
Comments
+++++
~ Three Words: 'i am ME dia!', Community, Trey's House!?
=Aloha Margaret,
Please understand the nature of my directness; i see your words as simply one direct source of Trey's recovery...a catalyst for the healing nature of our consciousness! Observing the ReGenerational Nature of Language (RGNL), a centered within a strong love of languages led to the discovery of particular triggers found in the brain, hence the mind (before epigenetics was publicly known), which possess the endocrinological-potential to rewrite core personality traits. i MYSELF previously ssstuusssttttered exxxxxxxtensively, uuuntil i was cured 'By the familiar me' in someone with a real concern for what i was before i was informed that stuttering had to be learned through behavioral conditioning rigors/triggers. [ini101.ds-Unpublished Open Source Study]
NovaScienceNow:
~ http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/sciencenow/3411/02.html
WikiPedia Definitions:
~ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Epigenetics
~ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Psychosocial_development
Endocrinology Now?:
*****MediMuse - Please support our community!!!*****
~ http://www.changemakers.net/en-us/node/17473
*****'i am ME dia! for you, too!
http://www.changemakers.net/en-us/node/17406
Thanks for entering Margaret,
å.b.
inione.
My husband works in a little gambling shack here in Portland. One of his regulars had a brain injury a long time ago - now, he spends his day gambling away his SSI money - just for the little social interaction he sees there. It's so sad. His stories all center around what he used to do. He never talks about the future, just the past. I don't think he even really sees a future for himself. He's just killing time now. I wish he had something like this program to go to. My heart breaks for him every time he comes in.
Good job on giving people back their hope.
----------
Remember, 'yes we did'; but there's still so much to do.
Hi Margaret,
This initiative sounds like it is and will be very effective. Would you mind explaining a bit more about where the innovation is in your program? Also, I would love to hear more about where the 'nudge' is, as I am unclear as to where the behavioral change will happen.
I also wanted to let you know that Changemakers will be having a competition in the summer of 2009 around mental health issues, so I would be sure to be on the look out for that competition, as it seems like this might be very applicable to that competition as well.
Thank you!
Chloe Feinberg
--
Ashoka
Full Economic Citizenship
Chloe, our members have been placed in group homes or adult day care centers where they sit and watch tv. People like that are doing what is expected of them, becoming fixtures, and not interacting except with other broken people. But, I can introduce you to three people that have had substantial brain injury, yet have returned to a fairly full life (even completing college degrees). Andi was 18 when she was in a car accident four years ago. In a deep coma for 2 months, her prognosis was so low Warm Springs Rehab would not admit her without strings being pulled. This semester, she returned to UTSA to continue her studies. Healing can take 10 and even 20 years, and the individual needs to have a real life place to go, to interact, to talk to dream, to live again. There is a place for them. There is hope for their lives. Our innovation is that we are not a structured program. We have access to programs like the jam session and open mic, programs that are open to the general public (and pulls the general public in) where our members can feel like anyone else. This allows them to participate, to actually reintegrate, with a safe space off to the back, where they can go if they become overwhelmed, or if they just aren't comfortable around others. 5.3 million Americans need to know the truth. That 10% of the brain we use allows for redundancies, where (given the chance) the functions can be regained to a degree. Yet, I talk to people all over the country, people who say the same thing...where is the hope? The doctors say plan on day care or group home. We say, "Stand behind the person, give them a safe place to go where they can interact publicly and the brain will adapt!" And, we say this as family and friends...not as medical providers!
----------
Just like you
These are the unedited words sent to me in an email recently, by a young man who suffered a TBI 11 years ago. I read and re-read these words because of what they are saying...This young man is a true hero...and he typifies our beliefs and our program. Tremendous words written by an incredible person!
"I understand the struggle. I have a speech impediment and when I am tired forget about it. My balance is horrible, my speech is slurred, and my thought process is not clear. I am alive though and trying to not get lost in the shuffle but rather live and enjoy life.
I know the majority of my healing took place within the first year after my accident. Who sets the limits though? Why can a person not continue to improve for .... As long as they want? Desire goes a long way. Where does strength and courage to face life come from? The fighting spirit and will.
They read me my last rights, they prepared my family for the worse and said I would die that first night. Then they told me that I would never walk again. Here I was a stud athlete barely walking two steps. My father could not watch.
Life is soooooo wonderful! All the experiences, feelings, and hopes for a better tomorrow make today worth fighting for."
----------
Just like you
Local TV station aired a news story about us, and though we cannot upload the video, we can include the link. To meet us and see what we are doing, go to:
http://www.ksat.com/video/18848964/index.html
----------
Just like you
I realize that when asked to explain our nudge, I was not clear.
Our nudge is in getting individuals with brain injury to realize that they count, that they can heal, and that there is hope. Just a few years ago, doctors and the powers that be said "Where you are in a year is where you will be forever." Today, they no longer say that. But, the prevailing attitude is that the damage is done, and the prognosis grim. But healing will happen. This is true even of those who have been institutionalized for years already!
Our nudge is also directed to the family and friends surrounding the injured person. By getting the families and friends to let go, that day care and group homes for most are warehousing, not stimulating and that the healing can continue.
----------
Just like you
When asked how we are different, what our innovation is, we sometimes get tongue tied. We are a drop in center, something that has been around a long time. Our innovation is that the drop in center is really a small part of our space, that the majority is dedicated to coffee house space, open to the general public, with evening programs that are also geared to the general public. By laying out our space this way, our members are encouraged to socially reintegrate in a public, yet safe environment. As one member put it, he always liked to go out, but aside from a bar, there is very little he can do with friends. At Treys House, we have a comfortable place to go, a place to meet friends as well as make friends, a place that is theirs.
Our coffee house is member run and member driven. While we have two full time (volunteer) staff, staff roles are to simply facilitate getting things done. We do not have a "program" we follow, we just have fun.
----------
Just like you
----------
Just like you
TBI patients, currently estimated at 5.3 million Americans require special attention. Real life settings to learn to deal with real life situations.
Below is copied from the American Speech Language and hearing website: http://www.asha.org/about/publications/leader-online/archives/2002/q2/02...
Community Reintegration
Returning to the community following a TBI can be challenging. The literature emphasizes that persistent cognitive impairments frequently impede successful community reintegration. Even those individuals who make significant gains in rehabilitation may experience difficulty when returning to premorbid activities. Community reintegration should emphasize a multidisciplinary approach, which also includes peers and family, in the attempt to close the gap between treatment activities and functional competence in the individual’s natural environment. The primary focus of community reintegration should be on what the individual with TBI needs to achieve for returning to work, school, and avocational interests (see sidebar above). Ongoing assessment of progress and modification of goals is critical to the success of any community reintegration program.
----------
Just like you
This unique and appearantly simplistic program has, by returning responsibility to individuals, created almost miracles in these individuals ability to return to being responsible citizens, rather than sick individuals needing round the clock care.
I have watched from the outside, and seen individuals go from almost non-verbal to laughing and telling jokes in a short period of time. The comeraderie developed among the members, staff, and volunteers has been truly wonderful.
Hello. My name is John Maisano and I would like to tell you about treys house. me and my friend, Jeanne, had heard about Treys House and I wanted to come see it. We cam and we looked around and there wasn't to much to it. Be that as it may, I signed up. After going a few times, I saw a big change in myself and others. I don't know what else I can say about it, except that I am glad it is available to me, it doesn't cost me anything, and it causes me to speak, even at night, when I am home. Normally, I watch TV and become a vegetable. But, at least when I come to Trey's house there are things to do. there is always something to talk about. In fact, I can give you an example. One time, margaret was talking about building a wall. I remember that I built a dog house for my dog, and remembered step by step how to do it, how to build the studs. Her and her husband followed my instructions and built it themselves. And that is something I am very proud of. It means a lot to me and to have the other members here to.
Margaret takes the advice of me, who is a former RN BSN and with that she takes the advice and suggestions of all the members which gives me my self esteem back. And now I am a part of a program i wanted that will help disabled people like me share housing instead of going into a group home. I feel like I have value again, and I take it upon myself to interact with others and to even interact at home. after my stroke, I thought my life had ended, which it did. But through some contact I made through the years to my friends, and the VA, I have learned how to live with the stroke. Treys house helps me do it publicly without any fear.
Regarding music and our jam sessions, I contacted the authors of a study published last year with a question. (ref: http://brain.oxfordjournals.org/cgi/content/abstract/131/3/866 for the full abstract). There is now quantifiable evidence to support music enhancining recovery in recent stroke patients. My question was regarding brain injury patients, and the reply I recieved from Teppo Sarkamo, Cognititve Brain Research Unit at the University of Helsinki, is as follows: "to answer you question, we have not yet done research on the use of music in brain injury patients, but I suspect that the mechanisms at least the emotional and motivational impact of music, are quite the same as in stroke patients. Especially for someone whose cognitive handicap is more related to attention and executive functioning, making music may well be the key for overcoming his or her deficits. Unfortunately, there has not been that much serious research to back this up. We still have a lot of work to do..."
So does Trey's House
----------
Just like you
Regarding music and our jam sessions, I contacted the authors of a study published last year with a question. (ref: http://brain.oxfordjournals.org/cgi/content/abstract/131/3/866 for the full abstract). There is now quantifiable evidence to support music enhancining recovery in recent stroke patients. My question was regarding brain injury patients, and the reply I recieved from Teppo Sarkamo, Cognititve Brain Research Unit at the University of Helsinki, is as follows: "to answer you question, we have not yet done research on the use of music in brain injury patients, but I suspect that the mechanisms at least the emotional and motivational impact of music, are quite the same as in stroke patients. Especially for someone whose cognitive handicap is more related to attention and executive functioning, making music may well be the key for overcoming his or her deficits. Unfortunately, there has not been that much serious research to back this up. We still have a lot of work to do..."
So does Trey's House
----------
Just like you
----------
Just like you
Post new comment