I think learning the steps of memory is important because it breaks down and helps what people may or may not have when it comes to their memory. 

Step 1: Attention; Step 2: Encoding (like filing); Step 3: Storage; Step 4: Retrieval (this is something I personally struggle with at times, and I’ll randomly remember what it was hours later). I like examples because it helps me remember!

Learning about TBI, or Traumatic Brain Injury, was interesting as well as I have only known it to be acquired brain injury. The non-traumatic causes were what were most interesting to me because of learning that causes like anoxia with incidents like strangulation didn’t make sense to me until Karen explained it further; all events are traumatic but non-traumatic causes don’t occur on impact.

I’m not the strongest in the subject of science and I bet you I have had previous studies with the brain however I could not tell you what every section does right now. Karen provided great examples of how the frontal cortex can be impacted by impacting someone’s judgement and missed social cues. Also learning the term “hemi” meaning half and how people who have ABI or TBI may have something like their sight affected that if they’re eating their meal and they may only finish half of their plate because that’s all they may see!

The presentation on acquired brain injuries was packed with lot of information that will be helpful for my employment opportunities and I know that in my role, there is a possibility that I will meet an individual with a brain injury. With, this presentation and some research I will do on acquired brain injuries it will be helpful for me to communicate with certain individuals and create connections. It is important to know the type of disability a person might have. For this presentation my three takeaways are:

1. During the presentation I learned the difference between brain injuries (TBI and NTBI) and the different kind of affects it has on the brain (physical, cognitive, and psychosocial). The presentation also explained the causes for brain injuries and how we can prevent them from happening. But sometimes we cannot stop things from happening. The best I think we can do is learn from it and see what we can do to improve the outcome and be patient with working with a person who has/had a brain injury. 

2. When Karen asked if I knew anybody with a brain injury, which I did. I thought about his accident and how this affected certain functions like speech, ability to walk, or certain tasks for self-care. There are things that Karen talked during her presentation which made me think of this person I know from my hometown. However, he has a big support group and friends. It took him awhile to be able to go out and to things again after the accident, but with time he was able to again. From this, I learned that you have something to learn/gain from every individual you meet. You just must be willing to learn. 

3. When Karen talked about the brain and which injuries can affect with parts of the brain. For example, the frontal lobe is responsible for memory. A person with a brain injury can lose their memories because of damage to the brain. I found it is important to know which part of the brain effects what, so you know when somebody talks about brain injuries about a certain individual, you will know or get an idea of what is being said or what you can do next. 

I liked the way she interacted with the students, and made them participate, which is an excellent teaching strategy and where students learn more by participating.

The first thing that seemed very important to me, and that I did not know at all is the difference between TBI and NTBI. I was able to learn that traumatic brain injury is when it occurs due to external causes and the most common are car accidents, falls, assaults, sports injury, missile (bullet), shrapnel, or blast. Non-traumatic brain injury is when it happens from inside our body, such as stroke, aneurysm, tumors (often this is removed), infections, or anoxia. In addition, this is also related to salt in the diet, smoking, and chiropractic the neck manipulations.

The second thing I learned about Anoxia, and it can be also a lowered hypoxia, lowered oxygen to the brain. I found this interesting because unfortunately people who attempt suicide by hanging can cause significant brain injury.

The third interesting thing I learned was about the brain. I had an idea that it was the most complex organ and that it manages our entire body, but the way that Karen explained it, showing each part of it and it function in our body, was very instructive. Learning each part of our brain and what would happen if one of these parts is damaged helps us understand the most common physical, cognitive and psychosocial effects, and be able to help either in treatment, rehabilitation or in seeking well-being for anyone with brain damage from basic to severe.

I will apply what I learned from Karen's presentation in my work as direct support, informing me if the person I support with brain injury, what part of his brain was affected, the causes and what were his capacities involved to be able to help him in therapies, treatments, or simply accompany you in the recovery process of various skills in post-traumatic events. Finally, I will be able to use more professional terms when referring to any brain injury, degenerative disease, cerebral cortex, causes and effects, types of disabilities, to do it in a respectful, kind and inclusive way.

 

Here are some of the things that I would like to share in Padlet.

 

1: When Karen talked about the causes of Traumatic Brain Injury, that reminds me how important to protect our brain. As a Direct Support Worker, the people that I support, some of them are having difficulty walking and tend to be easy to fall. It is important not hitting their brain. It reminds me that I have to be cautious not to let the people that I support fall and hit their heads. Also, when he shared about sports injury, that also remind me that I like playing soccer and I have to be aware of any intensive sport would result in the possibility of brain injury. I should avoid playing too hard and too aggressive in any intensive sports to prevent any brain injury. 

 

 

2. In fact, I have limited knowledge about ABI, but after Karen shared two different brain injuries: Traumatic Brain Injury TBI, and Non-Traumatic Brain Injury NTBI. I was glad to get to know this knowledge from her. In general speaking, we think that brain injury only happened physically, but when she told us about NTBI, I realize that Brain injury can be affected by infections, just like my friend who had a critical fever. I believe he did not only have a critical fever when he was a child but also, he might get some unknown infections that could possibly damage his brain. Also, I have another friend who was involved in a car accident and his brain was hit. Both of my friends experienced brain injuries, but they resulted in different symptoms and behaviors. The one with ABI partially lost his memory, and another with TBI, has a mental disorder. Thus, Karen allowed me to distinguish clearly between two traumatic and it will be very helpful and useful knowledge for my future career as a DSP. 

 

 

3. The third thing that I would like to share is medical care and recovery. This is an interesting and important part that I should be aware of my health and brain. One thing that she mentioned in this section is we should get sufficient sleep and nutrition. I think I should get sufficient rest because I do not have enough sleep and like to stay late at night. She reminds me in order to protect our brain, not only prevent any physical injury, but in mental, I should get more sleep to keep my brain functioning well and healthy 

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The third lesson learned is that taking advantage of rehabilitation for people living with ABI is integral.  I believe the information shared will help reveal some vital information about the need to find suitable support and rehabilitation for people who have ABI. Meeting the specific needs will require an individual to integrate the techniques discussed by Karen; the techniques  will help them deal with behavior and accomplish their daily activities. Rehabilitation taps into various aspects of an individual, such as cognitive re-training, communication, and speech. An individual with ABI needs to understand the limits of the condition and at the same time set goals. 

I will use the information learned to create awareness about ABI and encourage individuals to enroll in available rehabilitation to overcome some of the challenges they face in accomplishing daily tasks.

The first thing I learned that memory works. Paying attention, encoding something that we consider important for our future survival, storing a memory and retrieving it. I came to know that people with a brain injury can only store information for 30 seconds which may be rare. This could be well understood and stored in one’s memory through example Karen provided of the man whom he went as he forgets her name and that they even met. 

The second thing I learned was that Acquired Bran Injuries are divided into two categories: Traumatic Brain Injury(TBI) and Non-Traumatic brain Injury (NTBI). I came to know that TBI is caused by external factors such as car accidents, sport injury, etc. whereas NTBI is caused by Vascular, toxic exposure, etc. Before this I only knew that Traumatic Injuries cause brain damage. The non-traumatic effects were all new to me.

The third thing about difference between PTSD(Post Traumatic Stress Disorder) and Brain Injuries. In PTSD, hyper the memory while in mild and moderate injuries the memory is impaired not heightened. In PTSD, people remember every single detail whereas someone with a brain injury cannot remember the things happened to them. I think knowing this difference is important because many a times people misunderstood PTSD as brain injury. 

Also, her sharing about rehabilitation was the thing that fascinates me. The medical care, along with sufficient nutrition and starting rehab as soon as possible can help us maximize natural healing from brain injuries.

As a DSP I will try to apply all the strategies mentioned by Karen. I would take care of the people I am supporting with patience. I think when supporting a person, it is very important to know about what they have encountered and how to manage that. So, through this presentation I now know how to help the people with ABI I will now first  understand which part of brain is injured, is rehab, sleeping, nutrition is all the person need or he needs medical care, or neuroplasticity. Making them practice certain thing can help them store that thing in their memory. 

 

 

Do not say “Hey, don’t you remember me?” if someone struggles to place you, or berate them for not understanding their current situation. Memory loss can be so severe it can reset after a minute or even less. Injured brains can have trouble encoding, therefore do not store the memory. Be patient, and gently explain who you are and what you are doing there and respond kindly. When my grandma was diagnosed with Lewy body dementia, she had trouble with her memory and would seem to be living through past events, even hallucinating. We responded to and went along with the story to keep her calm and content. Some family would often tell her she’s wrong and correct her perception which would confuse and embarrass her. If someone I support has an acquired or traumatic brain injury and misremembers things or confuses their surroundings, I will be kind and respectful in my tone with them. I will gently remind them of what is going on and agree with them to lessen possible stress to retain everything. Increasing their sense of comfort and security can have positive emotional outcomes.

 

I had some understanding about traumatic brain injuries but had little knowledge of the intricacies of how rehabilitation is offered between a TBI and a NTBI. This would be a helpful piece of information if I am working with someone with a brain injury, to know what the cause of it was to shape what the recovery looks like. If they have had a motor vehicle accident/crash, a fall, taken a bullet or blast, they would have a TBI. Vascular issues, brain tumours, toxic exposure, and hypoxia/anoxia (lack of oxygen) would be an NTBI. Karen mentioned that systems used to treat brain injuries include building the capacity a person has and have different progressions. I can help develop specialized care plans for those I support by having this information. 

 The first thing that resonated me from the presentation is never ask a person with ABI the question of “Don’t you remember me?” You should never say to a person with a severe brain injury, “Don't you remember?” It could make the person feel very bad. So instead, what Karen would do is she'd say, “Nice to meet you. I'm Karen Thomas. We met a little while ago.” Don't be specific. Keep it open ended. I feel like this is respect. I also have a bad memory sometimes. I also don’t remember people’s names and how we met, so the question of “Don’t you remember?” makes me feel shameful as well. As DSPs, after listening to Karen’s presentation, I feel that we should be open-minded. We need to be patient and take time to get to know more about the individuals we support. Do not assume everyone is the same. Everyone is unique and special.

 

 The second area that impacted me from the presentation is when Kim talked about rehabilitation. I think number one medical care is very important. If you have the brain injury, you have to listen to the medical teams. You should start from the basic. Sleeping and getting enough nutrition is the key. Avoid alcohol and toxins because that will do more harm to the person who has already got brain injury before. It was shocking to know that it could be 8 times worse. As DSPs, we should have a sense of safety and judgment for the individuals we support because there’s a higher chance that they will have a second brain injury. We do have to make certain that they really do manage their environments with the support of us and we make sure they get sleep and nutrition and give the brain a chance to heal.

 
The last thing I want to share is the effect of using explosive devices in World War One and recently in Ukraine. It is super tragic because in World War One, the soldiers came back were confused with what they were diagnosed. They could not have normal urine and bowel movements and they were having difficulties to talk and walk. They were diagnosed as having shell shock / PTSD but in fact, some of them were not PTSD, they were having brain injury and made them cannot remember the facts. As DSPs, we need to try our best to help individuals with brain injury to identify what their needs are, because a person with severe memory loss is not going to do well with cognitive behavioral therapy because they won't remember things in detail. But they may do well with structured behavioral programming so that they know what to expect every day. Therefore, I think we need to equip ourselves well to best support the individuals with brain injury.

 

Karen was so knowledgeable about the topic presented, I learned the causes of ABI and I feared how vulnerable I am due to my sports and my lifestyle. I was scared that just a simple accident and mistake I could super brain injury, because TBI or Traumatic Brain Injury can be a cause of motor vehicle, falls, assault, sports injury, and missile blast. I also learned about the Non-Traumatic Brain Injury can be cause of stroke, tumors, toxic exposure, anoxia and even infections. She discussed the importance of setting goals, the different intervention needed, the importance of family and other natural support throughout the process of rehabilitation. 

I like her style of letting the student participate in a more engaging experience of interaction about the topic. It was effective to retain the information being taught by her. It was important for us to know the Physical   effects of brain injury such as fatigue, seizure, dysphagia, or difficulty of swallowing, vision hearing loss and dysarthria which is manifested by slow speech or slurred. We need to know about these because we might support a person with brain injury in the future. 

As a direct support professional knowing all about Karen presentation and using it as a tool in the performance of our duties and responsibilities. It will boost our confidence and improve the standard and level of care in this profession. A person with ABI needs the help of the family, caregivers, and the community to have them reintegrated into our society. 

 

 

Karen’s talk was fascinating to hear. I liked how she did it with such a pleasant smile on her face. I enjoyed how she communicated with the children and encouraged them to join, which is a great teaching method because students learn more when they participate. I have never worked with or known anyone with ABI in my life. Karen's talk broadened my understanding about ABI. The following are some of the takeaways from the presentation that I would emphasize as a direct support professional: 

First, During the lecture, I studied the differences between brain injuries (TBI and NTBI) and how they affect the brain in diverse ways (physical, cognitive, and psychosocial). The talk also covered the causes of brain injuries and how to avoid them. However, there are instances when we are powerless to prevent events from occurring. Non-traumatic brain injury affects brain cells in a direct way. A non-traumatic brain injury can spread to all sections of the brain because it damages the cellular structure, whereas a traumatic brain injury affects only a few locations. As far as I can see, we can learn from it that we can do to enhance the result while also remaining patient when working with someone who has or has had brain damage.  

 

The second item I took away from Keren's talk was about anoxia, which I had never heard of before. It seemed intriguing to me. I got to know that anoxic brain injuries are caused by a total absence of oxygen to the brain, which causes brain cells to die after around four minutes of oxygen deprivation. I enjoyed how she got us engaged by asking how long you think it will take. I learned that this sort of injury is frequently linked to strokes, however strokes are not the sole cause of brain damage. 

 

The third lesson I have picked up is about Medical Care and Recovery. She shared some excellent healing methods with us. I learned that sound sleep plays a critical role in healing traumatic brain injury. This is a fascinating and crucial aspect of which I think I should be aware.  She told us that sleep functions as a housekeeper, removing poisons from your brain that accumulate while you are awake. Along with this, I learned that drinking alcohol raises the risk of post-traumatic epilepsy. Moreover, alcohol's toxic impact on neural tissue impairs the brain's ability to heal from harm. So, it is beneficial to avoid alcohol and Toxins. 

 

As a DSP, I will do my best to implement all of Karen's suggestions. With patience, I would look after the folks I am helping. It is critical to understand what a person has gone through and how to deal with it while providing help. As a result of this lecture, I now have a better understanding of how to assist people who have ABI. 

 Thank you for providing such an informative lecture! 

1.     Firstly, I learned the memory process of our brain. I think that it is very vital for us to know about it because we have to support the persons who may have memory problems. So, by following the memory exercise we can store important information in their Brains. I learned about four steps of memory exercise that are Attention, Encode, Storage, and Retrieval. I learned how our brain saves things as important data. I liked the examples given by Karen in the explanation of memory because it helps me to understand the process of memory storage in our brains.

2.     Secondly, I learned about the different types of brain injuries which are Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) and Non-Traumatic Brain Injury (NTBI).  In the explanation, Karen taught us about the cause and prevention of TBI which will be helpful for us in supporting the person who we can prevent TBI. I learned that NTBI direct affects the brain cells without an external physical force on the head.

3.     Thirdly, I would like to talk about the most important part of her presentation that we must follow while supporting someone having brain injuries. It is medical care and recovery. We can take advantage of medical care by giving sufficient sleep and nutrition to our supporters. We can prevent brain injury or recover it by avoiding alcohol and toxins.

At last, I would like to mention that I learned a lot from Karen Thomas’ presentation. It would be helpful for me while support someone having Brain injuries. I would like to Thank You Karen for teaching us in a very interesting way. 

The first thing that I learned from this presentation was the causes of ABI and its types that includes Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) and Non-Traumatic Brain Injuries. Although I heard these terms for first time but still, I was known to some causes of ABI. As Karen explained that hemorrhage is the most sever brain injury especially when person is unaware of that, my friend had same case. She got injured in road accident and she was not diagnosed with her brain injury Immediately. But after few weeks when she started experiencing difficulties and came to know that due internal bleeding tumor formed in her brain. And After a few days of her tumor surgery, she passed away because it was too late. So, I learned from her presentation that we need to be careful, if someone get injured, we should not only look for visible injuries fully diagnosed is mandatory because later it could become serious issue.

The second thing I found really informative was knowing about Hemianopsia. I was totally unaware about this term before. I met so many people in life who have ABI, but I have not heard about these effects from anyone. As she explained in common effects that people with ABI who having Hemianopsia sometimes can only see and feel one side of their body, it was really shocking for me. But knowing this is really beneficial in my field of work in order to assist the person.

The last thing that I learned from this presentation was recovery process which I think is really important to know as she explained that how having sufficient sleep and nutrition can assist person for recovery. Most significant the support of family, and as DSP I think I can apply these learnings in my future to support people by understanding the limits of injury and put my efforts to assist the person in maintain his/her natural supports. 

 In last I would say this is a invaluable presentation and the way Karen explained everything was really understandable and amazing.

The first thing that I was taught is the difference between Traumatic Brain Injury and Non Traumatic Brain Injury. Before this discussion, I never really understood or took notice of the differences between the two, one being something traumatic has happened to cause a brain injury while the other is more of a medical condition that occurred and as a result there is a brain malfunction. This wouldn’t necessarily be something that will apply to the application of how I handle the people I am supporting currently or in the future, but I think it is good to have the knowledge. 

The next thing I appreciated Karen teaching us about was the symptoms of an ABI so that in the future I will be able to look out for those symptoms within my personal life as well as work life, especially when something happens that could be considered traumatic to the head area. I was unaware that there were so many signs physically, mentally, and psychologically, I always thought it was more brain related such as mood swings or being unable to speak properly or headaches, I didn’t realize there was such a variety of signs and symptoms. This will also help me in potentially understanding the behavior of someone who has experienced an ABI. 

Lastly, I found two bits of information very interesting and relevant. I did not realize that an ABI can be temporary, I had always thought it was a permanent condition, while saying that I also did not know that Strokes are ABI’s but I knew that you can have heal or at least improve with time after having one. Another thing I found interesting is that people are significantly more likely to suffer an ABI after having previously experienced head trauma. Both these facts are going to impact my effectiveness and role as an DSP because I will be sure to find out whether it is permanent or if with time, patience, hard work and supports the brain can recover, if that is the case, I will learn the best ways to help with the process. I will also be extra careful with anyone who I have knowledge about having a previous head trauma to ensure their brain has time to recover before encouraging any risky behavior to be performed.

 participating.