BI-ISIG Moving Ahead Highlights

A Publication of the American Congress of Rehabilitation Medicine Brain Injury Interdisciplinary Special Interest Group

Vol 23, No 1 - 2008

Message From The Chair
Philip Morse, PhD, FACRM

Greetings:

The annual ACRM-ASNR conference in Washington, DC was a smashing success for the BI-ISIG! The first day of the conference, Thursday, was so typical of the energy embodied in the BI-ISIG and its many members. After a fascinating plenary, “Brain-Computer Interfaces in Neurorehabilitation,” BI-ISIG events began with a tribute to Mitchell Rosenthal. The video collage put together by Kessler, with Marilyn Spivack’s special introduction, captured the many facets of Mitch that meant so much to all of us who felt that he “walked with us” for part of our professional and personal paths. The Mitchell Rosenthal Keynote Address was then given by Lee Woodruff. “A Family’s Journey after Brain Injury” was a very moving, personal, and articulate presentation of what living with brain injury was like for Bob Woodruff, his wife, and his family as they navigated the medical, psychological, and bureaucratic trials of rehabilitation in the wake of Iraq war injuries. Mary Hibbard’s participation in this presentation (as a treating psychologist) added an even greater depth to the account of clinical and personal adjustment issues that families and survivors experience in the aftermath of TBI.

Following the Keynote Address, the BI-ISIG sponsored the Sheldon Berrol Memorial Chautauqua: “Controversies in the World of Sports Concussion.” This event was a creative, stimulating and provocative discussion with Jeffrey Barth, PhD, outstanding as master of ceremonies, and an impressive panel comprising experts, as well as sports figures who had sustained sports concussions: Donna Broshek, PhD, Robert Cantu, MD, Ruben Echemendia, PhD, Kevin Guskiewicz, PhD, ATC, James Kelly, MD, Pat LaFontaine, Mel Owens, JD, Margot Putukian, MD, Frank Webbe, PhD, and Eric Zillmer, PhD.

The day concluded with the Annual BI-ISIG Business Meeting. This gathering provided an opportunity for old and new members to meet and to hear about the energetic activities of the nine BI-ISIG task forces. Many of these task forces met during the annual meeting to continue working on ongoing projects. For anyone interested in task force participation, the following is a list of the task forces and their respective chairs: Assistive Technology (Marcia Scherer & Tamara Bushnik), Cognitive Rehabilitation (Keith Cicerone), Community-Based Treatment (Nina Geier & Sally Kneipp), Disorders of Consciousness (Ron Seel), Long-term Issues (Tina Trudel & Austin Errico), Mild TBI (Irene Parisi), Pediatric/Adolescent (Linda Laatsch), Prognosis after TBI (Rosette Biester), and Treatment Theory (Tessa Hart).
At conference end, the BI-ISIG Executive Committee approved a proposal for a task force to focus on stroke. Initial goals include networking to create formal partnerships with other stroke-interest organizations, with plans to identify more specific goals and objectives. This task force represents an exciting new venture that we believe will both attract new members and establish a model for networking. The stroke task force will be co-chaired by Steve Page (Stephen.Page@uc.edu) and myself (philmorse@roadrunner.com). Please contact either us to “get in on the ground floor” of this exciting venture!

It was with great sadness that I announced in the business meeting the passing of Doug Harrington, an early BI-ISIG chair and a pillar of our group. Doug’s tenure as BI-ISIG Chair saw the initiation of the Sheldon Berrol Memorial Chautauqua. More recently, he had been active in both Pediatric/Adolescent and Cognitive Rehabilitation Task Forces. He was a past ACRM board member. Doug passed away only days prior to our annual meeting, having battled lung cancer for the past year. He will be missed by all of us. The BI-ISIG Executive Committee has discussed ways to honor his many contributions, including a focus in the areas of pediatrics and education in brain injury. We join the ACRM board in requesting ideas from members; please forward these to either myself or Ric Morgan at the ACRM office (rmorgan@acrm.org).

MID-YEAR MEETING: The next mid-year meeting is in Philadelphia on March 28-29, 2008. Mark your calendars now, and come prepared for a productive (task force chairs are very demanding at these meetings, as you know) and enjoyable (we also make sure to have plenty of fun) opportunity to socialize and to network with new and old friends. See you all there!

Sincerely,
Philip Morse, PhD, FACRM
BI-ISIG Chair

Also in this issue:

• Letter from the Editor
• Annual Meeting Minutes
• New BI-ISIG Members: 2007
• In Memoriam: Douglas Eli Harrington
• BI-ISIG News Briefs
• BI-ISIG Members Receive Awards and Recognition
• 2007 Sheldon Berrol Chautauqua Panel of Exports
• 2008 Mid-Year Meeting Registration Form
  

If you are a member of the BI-ISIG, a pdf version of this newsletter can be found in the BI-ISIG - Members Only Area of this website.