BrainSTEPS: Assists students, schools &

families in Pennsylvania following

acquired brain injury

Brenda Eagan Brown, M.S.Ed., CBISBrainSTEPS Program CoordinatorEmail: eaganbrown@biapa.orgPhone: 724-944-6542Website: www.brainsteps.net

Each year, approximately26,000

children in Pennsylvania sustain a traumatic brain injury

(mild, moderate, or severe)

Source: The Brain Injury Association of Pennsylvania, 2008

How Common is TBI in Children in Pennsylvania?

In 2006

4,000children &

adolescents in Pennsylvania were HOSPITALIZED

with TBI Source: The Pennsylvania Department of

Health, 2006DOES NOT INCLUDE EMERGENCY ROOM VISITS.

7052010-11 school year

Pennsylvania Students Receiving Special Education Services as TBI:

The return to school can be devastating if the health care facility (hospital or rehabilitation center) and the child's home school do not interact as soon as possible and as frequently as possible

Carter and Savage, 1988; Ylvisaker et al., 1991;

Begali, 1992; Mira et al.,1992;

Lash, 1992 Retrieved Jan. 21, 2013 from

http://www.tbi.org/library/html/children_and_adolescents.html

The BrainSTEPS ProgramFunded by:

PA Department of Health PA Department of Education

Implemented by: Brain Injury Association of Pennsylvania

since 2007

The BrainSTEPS Program

Brain injury consulting teams available to families and schools throughout Pennsylvania.

Teams consult with & train local school staff to develop educational programs specific to individual student needs.

BrainSTEPS Assists Students with All Acquired Brain Injuries

Traumatic Brain Injury (includes Concussions)

Non-Traumatic Brain Injury

* Any child who has a brain injury that occurs AFTER

the birth process can be referred to BrainSTEPS

30 BrainSTEPS teams cover PA 27 are based out of the educational

Intermediate Units & 3 larger districts 320 active, trained BrainSTEPS team

members Educational professionals Medical professionals Rehabilitation professionals Staff from community facilities Staff from government agencies University faculty Family members

BrainSTEPS Teams

TACConsultant

SocialWorker

GuidanceCounselor

FamilyMember

SpeechTherapist

SchoolNurse

School Psych/Neuro-

psych.

PTTherapist

OTTherapist

504 Coordinator

SpecialEd.

Supervisor

BrainSTEPSTeams

BrainSTEPS PA Hospital & Rehab Team MembersChildren’s Hospital of Philadelphia

The Children’s Institute of Pittsburgh

Lehigh Valley Hospital Acadia Rehabilitation, Inc.

St. Christopher’s Hospital for Children

Nemours/A.I. duPont Hospital for Children

Hershey Medical Center Mainline Rehabilitation

ReMED Magee Rehab Hospital

Geisinger Medical Center Schuylkill Rehabilitation

Good Shepherd Rehabilitation

Reading Hospital

St. Vincent’s Medical Center The Barber Institute

Beechwood Rehabilitation Services

1-2 Team Leaders per team Organize monthly team meetings Ensure student referrals are assigned &

follow up is provided Conference call together once a month for

1 hour with the Program Coordinator for program updates

Meet with the Program Coordinator for Team Leader Regional day long workshops 2x/year

They are the “glue”

BrainSTEPS Team Leaders

What BrainSTEPS Teams Do:

1.Prepare the student for return to school2.Communicate with the district & medical, & rehab professionals3. Gather medical, rehab, & educational

reports/evaluations to assist in making educational recommendations

4.Conduct student observations

5. Provide peer, parent and school training Individual to student needs for school

teams General for district wide in-service

trainings6. Consult on all aspects of the student’s

educational plan & make recommendations to the district team

7. Assist in transitioning a student from grade to grade or school to school by training new teachers

What BrainSTEPS Teams Do:

What BrainSTEPS Teams Do:

8. Serve as a consistent point of contact for students

9. Offer families support, education and connections to community resources

BrainSTEPS Student Care Binders10.Continually update their brain injury

expertise by attending mandatory BrainSTEPS trainings, obtaining CBIS certification, and participate in other brain injury training opportunities

11. It is a goal of the BrainSTEPS Teams to monitor all referred students annually

until graduation.

BrainSTEPS Database

BrainSTEPS Frontloads Supports Short Term Impact = Long Term Impact

BrainSTEPS works to ensure that students who

would have otherwise immediately been placed in special education upon returning to school after a brain injury are receiving appropriate supports while the brain is healing, before school teams make long term placement decisions

Brain Injury Screening

BrainSTEPS teaches educators and related professionals to ask PROBING questions about prior brain injuries so theappropriate supports can be put in place.

Post Secondary Team

BrainSTEPS worked with the University of Pittsburgh to establish the 1st Brain Injury Committee in May 2012

– housed in the Disability Support Services office

December 2008,BrainSTEPS received an Award of Excellence for

Programs & Services from the national

Brain Injury Association of America

   

BrainSTEPS Concussion Support

Statewide Return to School & Academics

Concussion Management Team (CMT) Project

Concussions in Pennsylvania:

Annually, approx. 22,000children ages 0-21 years sustain concussions.

For students who linger, striking a balance

between the need for rest and keeping up

with academic content is the biggest

struggle.

Available at: www.brainsteps.net

Available at: www.brainsteps.net

Return to School Concussion Management Team Project (CMT) 2013

360 CMTs formed & trained by BrainSTEPS across the state of PA - Jan. 15, 2013 (40+ on wait list currently)

CMTs consist of 2 monitors Academic Monitor (School Psych, Guidance Counselor)

Symptom Monitor (School Nurse)

CMTs follow BrainSTEPS Return to School Concussion Protocol

Concussionoccurs

CMT Monitoring1-4 wks @ School level

BrainSTEPS Intervention– 4 wks @ IU level

Layered Statewide Infrastructure for Concussion Return to School

1st

layer2nd

layer

CMT Project BrainSTEPS provided PA schools with:

1. A structure Concussion School Re-Entry Protocol

2. Information & guidelines CMT Training

3. Methods for gathering data CMT Monitoring Tools

Who can be referred to

BrainSTEPS?

Who can be referred to BrainSTEPS?

A student who:1. Has an acquired brain injury

• At any point in the student’s life

2. Is having difficulty at school as a result of the acquired brain injury

• Concussions – referrals taken at 4wks. Post, unless there are “concussion modifiers” present

• All other brain injury severities – referrals taken at any point in time. The sooner the better

BrainSTEPS Websitewww.brainsteps.net

Available at: www.brainsteps.net

Available at: www.brainsteps.net

Contact:

Brenda Eagan Brown, M.S.Ed., CBISBrainSTEPS Program CoordinatorPhone: 724-944-6542Email: eaganbrown@biapa.orgwww.brainsteps.net