Wednesday, September 8, 2010

BIA of Illinois Annual Educational Conference - October 22-23, 2010

The Brain Injury Association of Illinois annual educational conference has a variety of topics and presenters that will be of interest to everyone. Our keynote presenters include: Dr. Valerie Nowinski (Neuropsychology Diagnostic Center), Dr. Jeri Morris (Northwestern University), Dr. Robert Kohn (University of Illinois - Chicago), Dr. James Young (Rush University Medical Center), and Mr. Chris Nowinski (Sports Legacy Institute). Additional presenters include: Stacy Yusim (Equip for Equality), Dr. Patrick McGrath (Alexian Bros Behavioral Health Hospital), Dr. Allan Kozlowski (Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago), Diana Nawrocki (Triton College), Dr. Roy Adair (Advocate Christ Medical Center), Guy Geleerd (Geleerd Law Group), Dr. James Cohn (Lakeview Specialty Hospital and Rehabilitation), Ginny Lazzara (Nolan Law Group), Dr. Patrick Walsh (Marianjoy Rehabilitation Hospital), Dr. Elizabeth Pieroth (Midwest Center for Concussion Care), Dr. Theresa Pape (Dept of Veterans Affairs - Hines VA Hospital), and Bill Baumann (NeuroRestorative).


Some of the topics to be addressed include: Brain Injury's Impact on the Individual & Family, Social & Therapeutic Relationships following Brain Injury, Mild Brain Injury: Treatment & Diagnosis, Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, Sports Concussions, Advance Directives, Anxiety & Stress Management, Brain Injury Research, Functional Range of Motion, Spasticity, Preparation for Being a Witness in Court, Agitation following Brain Injury, Being Safe to Return to Play, NeuroPlasticity of the Brain, and Returning to Work. The Friday morning Pool session, Functional Range of Motion in the Pool, is open to all conference attendees. Pre-registration is required for this session. Participants can participate in the pool, or sit on the deck and listen to the session.

One of the BIA of Illinois' new programs, The Essentials, is for individuals who have sustained a brain injury. There are 3 tracks involved in this program. One of the tracks will be presented during the conference by Ginny Lazzara. The session will address social skills and appearance. The Friday afternoon session, "The Essentials: Expressing Yourself / Creating Your Look" is open only to individuals who have sustained a brain injury. We have been able to develop this program because of our partnership with the Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago on the Midwest Regional TBI Model System (MRTBIMS) grant. This grant was awarded to RIC by the National Institute of Disability and Rehabilitation Research (NIDRR).

The Saturday morning session of the conference will also include a "mini sports clinic" session. This clinic will address identifying and diagnosing sports concussions, assessing when it is safe to return to play, chronic traumatic encephalopathy, and addressing the public's view of concussions. This clinic is being sponsored by Marianjoy Rehabilitation Hospital, and will allow us to invite coaches/athletic trainers/athletes to this component of the conference.


The conference is open to the public. The conference registration form and additional information can be found at http://www.biail.org/. The price to attend the conference has not changed this year, and the hotel rooms are at a lower rate. Conference room rates are available at the two adjacent hotels, Hilton Suites and Hilton Garden Inn.

There are a variety of exhibitor and sponsorship opportunities available for this conference.The Exhibitor/Sponsor form and information can be found at the BIA website, http://www.biail.org/. Call the office for additional information, (800)699-6443, or e-mail info@biail.org