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Brain Injury Survivor's Guide
http://www.braininjuryguide.org
Beth and Larry Jameson have the kind of marriage you read
about in novels or see in the movies. They meet
as teenagers at a church service: six years later they
were married in that same church and thirty-seven
years later they are still husband and wife.
In
1990, Beth Jameson suffered a life changing brain
injury. Over the years both Beth and Larry have
learned a lot about brain injury recovery they have lived through that process - Beth as a survivor
and Larry as supportive spouse.
When individuals
personally go through a brain injury, rehabilitation
and recovery as Beth and Larry have and decide to share wisdom
and knowledge with others you have the makings of a
valuable web resource. The resource is our
website of the Month for January 2008: the Brain
Injury Survivor's Guide.
The site's opening page beckons visitors
"Welcome to Our World, Beth and Larry Jameson,
survivors, authors." The purpose of the Brain
Injury Survivor's Guide is to
provide resources and
information that can lead to more productive
lifestyles as well as providing tools to assist with increasing
compensatory and cognitive skills. The site is
also a companion to the book: "Brain
Injury Survivor's Guide: Welcome to Our World,"
which the Jamesons have recently published. You can learn
more about the book on their website. The
Jamesons told us why they created the site:
We
wanted to provide information and tools in a
format that would be easy to understand. We
hope to fill a need for brain injury survivors
who can benefit from what we have learned and
put into practice.
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When
you click-into the actual site and read the
introductory section you will see that the Jamesons
have written their site in clear, direct language and
provide directions on using the site in order to make it useful
to the many survivors who visit.
The left-hand column of
the
Brain
Injury Survivor's Guide is
the main menu for the site (there is also a link to
the site map on the bottom of each page). There
are a number of interesting and useful sections in the
site. We will highlight three:
Brain Injury Planner Pages - This section includes an
instruction guide to making planner pages. The
thirty page guide is a PDF file and can be
printed. It contains step- by- step instructions
for making a planner with important information a TBI
survivor would need to stay organized. It could
be used as a compensatory strategy so that it is easy
for someone to quickly refer to it and find the
information they need.
The planner contains a host of sections including a
monthly and daily planning calendar, doctors offices,
reasons for doctors appointments, driving directions,
meal planning, co-worker list - even a section on how
to put on makeup. A lot of thought went into the
design of this planner, no doubt based on the Jamesons own experience. This planner can be
used by survivors, family members as well as specialists
who work with TBI survivors. Larry Jameson noted: "The planner
pages are necessary strategies for living with memory
and cognitive problems. As problems arose in Beth's
life, we would find a way to overcome it."
And that knowledge learned over the years is contained
in the planner pages.
Computer Help Desk - This is a unique section and
unlike any that we have seen on the web. There
are clear, to-the-point instructions (with screen
shots) on using the automatic memory for computer
passwords. There is also information on using
credit cards, helpful information on phishing scams,
using gas rebate cards and an upcoming section on
Online shopping. All of this is written clearly
with anecdotal illustrations.
Creating a Photo Album - This is another unique section that
we have not seen elsewhere on creating and using photo
albums as a memory aide and compensatory
strategy. The Jamesons include examples of
different types of photo albums that a survivor or family
member or helper can create. They also show why
and how these can be used.
We have considered these three sections here but there is a
lot more information contained in the Brain
Injury Survivor's Guide
and we encourage you to visit the site and click-through
to all the sections. We are sure you will find
much useful information and tools.
What has
been the response to the
Brain
Injury Survivor's Guide
website? Larry Jameson told us: "The response
has overwhelmed us. Many of the emails we have received
thanking us for building the site have really touched
our heart."
The Brain Injury Survivors Guide website is another
unique and useful web resource that is the product of
the experiences of a survivor and her family as Beth
Jameson said to us: "Knowledge is power to a brain
injured person. Never give up."
Northeast Center for Special Care is pleased to present
the Brain
Injury Survivor's Guide
as our website of the month for January, 2008. It is just a
click away, and don't forget to bookmark
the site so you can visit again.
The
Brain
Injury Survivor's Guide
website is a companion to the book written by the
Jameson's. "Brain
Injury Survivor's Guide: Welcome to Our
World"
is written for Brain Injury Victims and their
families by a Brain Injury Survivor and her
family. INTRODUCING B.R.A.I.N.-an innovative
strategy for memory improvement. Learn the
strategies Beth used to overcome memory, cognitive
and behavioral problems after her brain injury.
Dozens of lists and planning pages provide a way
to compensate for a brain that is not performing
"as it once did."
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Disclaimer:
Reference in this web site to any specific
organizations, commercial products, process, service,
manufacturer, or company does not constitute its
endorsement or recommendation by Northeast Center for
Special Care.
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