If you missed singer-songwiriter Vince Bell at last year's conference, here's your chance to see him live in Austin at Frontera Fest beginning Saturday, January 23rd!

He will be performing "One Man's Music: A Monologue with Song" at the Blue Theater on Springdale Road. Click here for more information!

 

BIATX is happy to announce that our 1st Annual Golf Tournament was a great success! Thank you to all of our sponsors and participants. We couldn't have done it without you!

 

 

 

Baylor College of Medicine is looking for participants for a study of the long term effects of childhood TBI:

“Baylor College of Medicine, the Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, is recruiting eligible subjects for a new study of the long-term effects of childhood traumatic brain injury entitled “Trauma to the Developing Brain: Model Refinement and Therapeutic Intervention”. The Principal Investigator is Dr. Harvey S. Levin. You are invited to participate if you meet the requirements of the study.

Two groups of 29 youth each will be recruited for the study. Group 1 will be youth who are now 11 to 16 years old and who had a severe brain injury when they were 2 to 5 years old. Group 2 will be healthy youth who are now 11 to 16 years old. Participants in the study will have magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), which is a non-invasive procedure for taking a picture of the brain, and will complete some learning and memory tests. The study will take about 4 hours, and participants will be compensated $100 for their time.

To find out if you qualify, and for more information about the study, please call the study coordinators, Kim Orsten at 713-798-6319 or Marianne Macleod at 713-798-7280.” Click here for information brochure

Clinical Research Study Now Enrolling People in Texas with Past Head Injury who Feel Sleepy During the Day

"Many people with a head injury may feel sleepy during the day, even if the injury happened years ago. Researchers are inviting those with a head injury who feel sleepy during the day to take part in a clinical study. This study will assess how well a study medi­cine works for people who feel sleepy during the day as a result of head injury.

To qualify, you must:

• Be age 18 to 65
• Have had 1 head injury in the past 10 years
• Feel sleepy or tired 5 or more days a week on average
• Be willing to take tests and medicine for 12 weeks
• Be available to sleep overnight in a sleep lab 5 times

If you qualify:

• You may learn more about your sleep patterns
• You will receive study-related medical care and study medicine at no cost
• You may or may not benefit from study medicine
• Compensation for time and travel may also be provided

There are 4 study centers in Texas. To see if you qualify call: 1.877.674.6316 or click: www.HeadSleepStudy.org "

Fall Newsletter

 

"The US Department of Health and Human Services has awarded Texas a $1 million four-year grant to help identify children in the juvenile justice system who have undiagnosed brain injuries and arrange services for tose children." For more information click here

 

"Can Brains Be Saved?" by Lee Woodruff Featured article in Parade Magazine

 

 

 

April 2009 Conference Wrap

 

BIATX's 25th Annual Statewide Conference was a great success! With over 150 attendees and a terrific line-up of speakers, we are considering it one of our best conferences ever! We would like to thank our co-sponsor, Coalition of Texans with Disabilities, and of course, all of our sponsors and exhibitors.

 

Have You Been Denied Insurance Coverage for Brain Injury Rehabilitation? We Want to Hear Your Story

 

The Brain Injury Association of Texas is seeking out individuals with brain injury who have been denied cognitive rehabilitation benefits through their insurer on health benefit plans issued or renewed on or after January 1, 2008. In some cases this may be a violation of HB 1919 which was passed in the last Texas legislative session. The Association is encouraging members and their families to file a complaint with the Texas Department of Insurance (TDI) directly.

TDI's website links for filing complaints:

1. Go to http://www.tdi.state.tx.us/

2. Click on “Online Services”

3. Click on “Online Services-Complaints”

4. Follow Instructions

General Information on Complaints:

http://www.tdi.state.tx.us/pubs/consumer/cb003.html

 

 

Know Your Rights Under Texas Law Regarding Health Insurance Plan Coverage for Treatment of Brain Injury

 

 

Take action to support continued funding for the Comprehensive Rehabilitation Services program. Let your voice be heard in the Texas Legislature. Click here to take action!

 

 

Winter 2008 Newsletter

 

U.S. panel calls for brain injury screening for troops:

Head wounds have been linked to aggression, dementia

Friday, December 05, 2008

"A long-awaited government report is calling on the U.S. military to test all new recruits for cognitive skills and then do large-scale studies of returning combat veterans to better evaluate and respond to traumatic brain injury, the signature wound of the Iraq war.

For years, veterans' advocates and researchers have called for more careful investigation of head injuries — not just severe wounds but also "closed" head injuries, which do not produce visible damage and do not show up on CT scans.

Some doctors and veterans say the high blast impact of roadside bombs, which have accounted for most head injuries to troops in Iraq, may be creating symptoms that differ from the sort of concussions suffered in sports or car wrecks. Many veterans have complained of persistent, disabling symptoms like sleeplessness, dizziness and confusion that can resemble disorders like post-traumatic stress and can complicate disability assessments." Statesman.com

 

 

 

 

 

Walk For Thought Wrap

 

December 5, 2008

The Association would like to thank each and everyone of you for your support of and participation in our 2008 Walk For Thought. We raised upwards of $13,000.00! We couldn't have done it without you!!

The Association would like to thank the following sponsors for their contributions to the Walk For Thought:

Gold Sponsor

Silver Sponsors

 

Bronze Sponsor

Lone Star Milk Producers

Roger McDowell

Basic Sponsors

Bayou City Lumber

Allen & Allen Company

Isothermal Protective Coatings

Tejas Industries

 

 

Fall Newsletter 2008- Special Veterans Edition

 

A Message From the Department of Assistive and Rehabilitative Services

April 28, 2008

"The Texas Department of Assistive and Rehabilitative Services (DARS) thanks the Brain Injury Association of Texas (BIATX) again for providing quality information and referral services to our consumers in the Comprehensive Rehabilitation Services program (CRS). With the assistance of BIATX and our many providers around the State, the CRS program has already served 622 consumers and expects to serve more by August 31, 2008-the end of the fiscal year.

We expect to be able to reduce the waiting list in the CRS program with the $9.6 million that will be available to serve consumers starting September 1, 2008.

Historically, 5% to 8% of the consumers in the CRS program are veterans. While we require all consumers to use other available resources first, veterans have the same opportunity to receive CRS as other Texans.

CRS Eligibility Criteria

The consumer must have a traumatic brain injury and/or spinal cord injury that results in a substantial impediment to functioning independently in the home and in the community in terms of mobility, self-care and/or communication; and

• be at least 16 years old when services on the individualized written rehabilitation program (IWRP) are completed;
• be a citizen or immigrant alien of the United States;
• be a resident of Texas for at least six months, or have a family member living in the state for at least six months who is, or will become, the consumer's primary caregiver;
• be willing to accept treatment.

Consumers may want to discuss the eligibility criteria with their DARS counselors. Some other eligibility criteria may also need to be met.

The CRS counselor must reasonably expect that having received CRS program core services the consumer will be able to function more independently in the home and the community.

As we move forward, in order to provide the most timely services, we hope we can enlist your support in ensuring referrals early in the recovery process. If you know of people, veterans and others, who are recovering from traumatic brain injury or spinal cord injury, please refer them to the CRS program or DARS."

For more information about the CRS program please call 800-628-5115, or visit the DARS website at http://www.dars.state.tx.us/drs/index.shtml.

 

2008 Seminar Series Wrap-Up

Houston

"I am proud to say that the Houston Seminar was a huge success for the fact that we had a respectable turn out, a great line of speakers and people that wanted to be educated about Traumatic Brain Injury, TBI. We were able to reach to people from as far away as Weimar down to Victoria. We had the pleasure of of having the following talks: "How to be an Effective COnsumer of Neuropsychology Services", "Keeping Relationships alive after TBI", "Management of Spasticity and Post-Traumatic Movement Disorders", "The Story of HB 1919: Brain Injury, Insurance and Rehabilitation", "Brain Injury and Depression", "Neuroanatomy of Behavior After Brain Injury or 'You Don't Like My Behavior? You'll Have to Discuss That With My Brain Directly'", "Interventions to Improve Social Communication After TBI", and "Post Traumatic Stress Disorder and Traumatic Brain Injury". We would not have been able to make it happen without our sponsors, CORE Healthcare, ResCare Premier, MENTIS Neuro Rehabilitation, Memorial Hermann/TIRR, Pate Rehabilitation and Innovative Neurotronics. I heard nothing but positive feedback on everything."

-Jason Ferguson, Houston Regional Seminar Chair

Lubbock

Lubbock seminar wrap coming soon.

Tyler

The Tyler one day seminar was canceled this year.

 

Austin Man Competes in Brazosport Relay Triathlon

September 4, 2008

Ledlie Competing for a Cause

A former football and track athlete at Brazoswood High School, Jason Ledlie never imagined putting his body through the rigors of a triathlon. But something kept tugging at him to finish what his father, Robert Ledlie, couldn’t. (thefacts.com)