Suicide Interactive Screening Initiative

Posted from  American Foundation for Suicide Prevention

Each year, 1,100 college students die by suicide, more than die from any other cause except accidents. Almost all suffered from depression or another serious but treatable mental disorder. But an estimated 85 percent hadn’t sought any type of treatment because they were mistrustful of involving a stranger in their problems, feared the judgment of friends, didn’t know where to go or were just too overwhelmed to seek help. To stop this tragic loss of young lives, AFSP developed the Interactive Screening Program, a web-based system that connects at-risk students to a campus counselor and facilitates anonymous online exchanges to resolve barriers to treatment.

If you, or someone you know, is in suicidal crisis or emotional distress please call 1-800-273-TALK (8255).

ISP has been recognized as a Best Practice for Suicide Prevention based on published evidence of its effectiveness in encouraging at-risk students into treatment. Our Big Idea is to ensure that college students get the help they need by making this secure, anonymous and effective program available to schools in every state

Vote Now and Help AFSP Win $1 Million

Facebook Users Click Here to Vote for AFSP

Thanks to the thousands of people concerned about suicide prevention, AFSP placed in the Top 100 -- out of 500,000 charities -- competing in the Chase Community Giving Campaign. As a Top 100 winner, AFSP will receive $25,000. The Chase Community Giving Campaign is a ground-breaking funding strategy that allows Facebook users to vote on which charities Chase will support in 2010.

The Top 100 charities are now competing for the $1 million grand prize.

The one million dollars would enable AFSP to expand our innovative, highly successful program to identify college students at risk for suicide -- and make it available to colleges in every state in the country. Learn more. Voting is now open and ends Friday, January 22.

All you need is a Facebook profile. If you’re already on Facebook you can vote for AFSP here.

If you’re not on Facebook, don’t worry, signing up is easy and will take just a minute or two. Simply go to www.facebook.com and look for the green "SIGN UP" button. You’ll enter some basic information, and when Facebook sends you an email confirmation, your profile will be set up and ready to vote for AFSP. (You’ll be asked if you want to add friends or photos, but this is optional; and if you don’t want to be on Facebook after the challenge is over, no problem, you can easily delete your profile.)

Suicide is the second leading cause of death among college students -- help us make a real difference in the lives of these young adults.

NOW IS THE TIME TO END THE STIGMA SURROUNDING SUICIDE. PASS THIS MESSAGE ON TO EVERYONE YOU KNOW -- FRIENDS, FAMILY, CO-WORKERS, CLASSMATES.

THANK YOU FOR HELPING TO MAKE SUICIDE PREVENTION A NATIONAL PRIORITY.

Thanks to the thousands of people concerned about suicide prevention, AFSP placed in the Top 100 -- out of 500,000 charities -- competing in the Chase Community Giving Campaign. As a Top 100 winner, AFSP will receive $25,000. The Chase Community Giving Campaign is a ground-breaking funding strategy that allows Facebook users to vote on which charities Chase will support in 2010.

The Top 100 charities are now competing for the $1 million grand prize.

The one million dollars would enable AFSP to expand our innovative, highly successful program to identify college students at risk for suicide -- and make it available to colleges in every state in the country. Learn more. Voting is now open and ends Friday, January 22.

All you need is a Facebook profile. If you’re already on Facebook you can vote for AFSP here.

If you’re not on Facebook, don’t worry, signing up is easy and will take just a minute or two. Simply go to www.facebook.com and look for the green "SIGN UP" button. You’ll enter some basic information, and when Facebook sends you an email confirmation, your profile will be set up and ready to vote for AFSP. (You’ll be asked if you want to add friends or photos, but this is optional; and if you don’t want to be on Facebook after the challenge is over, no problem, you can easily delete your profile.)

Suicide is the second leading cause of death among college students -- help us make a real difference in the lives of these young adults.

NOW IS THE TIME TO END THE STIGMA SURROUNDING SUICIDE. PASS THIS MESSAGE ON TO EVERYONE YOU KNOW -- FRIENDS, FAMILY, CO-WORKERS, CLASSMATES.

THANK YOU FOR HELPING TO MAKE SUICIDE PREVENTION A NATIONAL PRIORITY.

Brain Development A Human Right ,

By Amy Price PhD

Clicking on Train Your Brain , Save Your Mind here will take you to a fascinating short video on the power of personal brain optimization and contains a clinically validated assessment tool. This video is presented by Dr Evian Gordon of Brain Resource Company and speaks to the highly acclaimed wellness program, My Brain Solutions. It is well worth investigating, in less than 15 days I showed improvement on several measures of cognition. If you would like to sign-up for MyBrainSolutions please email me ….read on for why training your brain matters… If you have difficulty signing up or have questions please post a comment and I will be happy to help you with this.

Research on cognition that shows transfer of training and increase in quality of life is dependent on carefully assessing individual differences with  clinically accepted tools which provide personalized training to meet these perimeters[1,2,3,4,]


Learning and novelty are partners yet many brain fitness programs offer rote repetition of weak areas without variation in task or content in a bid to target learning, However research shows us this is not the way meaningful learning occurs. Tasks must be individually challenging to hold engagement and yet structured enough to be doable. Ideally tasks will adapt to changing learning curves to build neuroplasticity. The best learning capitalizes on emotional and intellectual strengths already present while strengthening areas of weakness in a positive atmosphere. For example, teaching a university student mnemonics and concept mapping may make the memory more efficient however teaching an individual with organic damage or early dementia how to remember names and faces with a mnemonic is an exercise in futility.

Specific training alone can lead to plastic changes in the brain as demonstrated by expert Braille readers who show an enlarged hand area and smearing of finger representations in the somatosensory cortex. This result was observed in expert, but not in novice Braille readers suggesting that the training and not the blindness which leads to the changes in cortical representation [5]Similar domain specific results were noted in London taxi drivers and expert violinists. Kramer et al [6] states recruitment of additional brain regions helps performance only if the recruited area complements processing of the task in question. This is likely why rote memorization fails to increase working memory whereas training that targets attentional networks and processing speed increases working memory limits. We are incapable of processing in depth what we have not attended to and our capacity for material attended to is limited by the speed at which we process stimuli.

My Brain Solutions has an inviting Dashboard where you can  Empower Your Own Life....See you at the Dashboard!

1. Posner, M., & Rothbart M. Educating the human brain. Washington, DC US: American Psychological Association.; 2007:189-208. doi:10.1037/11519-009


2. Jaeggi SM, Buschkuehl M, Jonides J, Perrig WJ. Improving fluid intelligence with training on working memory. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America. 2008;105(19):6829-33. Available at: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18443283

3. Willis SL, Tennstedt SL, Marsiske M, et al. Long-term effects of cognitive training on everyday functional outcomes in older adults. JAMA : the journal of the American Medical Association. 2006;296(23):2805-14. Available at: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17179457


4. Gordon E, Arns M, Paul RH. Research Report THE INTEGRATE MODEL OF EMOTION, THINKING AND SELF REGULATION: AN APPLICATION TO THE “PARADOX OF AGING”. Thinking. 2008;7(3):367-404.

5. Greenwood PM. Functional plasticity in cognitive aging: review and hypothesis. Neuropsychology. 2007;21(6):657-73. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17983277


6. Kramer AF, Bherer L, Colcombe SJ, Dong W, Greenough WT. Environmental influences on cognitive and brain plasticity during aging. The journals of gerontology. Series A, Biological sciences and medical sciences. 2004;59(9):M940-57.: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15472160.

Brain Optimization For The Job You Want!

By Ninah Kessler, Brain Fitness Coach

Can an economic downturn be good? Can it help you to recreate your life at a higher level? It can if you have the right mindset. That’s why it’s so important to teach your brain to think positively. But we also have to take care of the machinery of the brain itself. We need brain fitness.

The experts used to think that we all had a limited number of neurons in our brain. Then in the 1990’s, the decade of the brain, neuroscientists discovered that we could develop new neurons and new neuronal connections at any age. If we want to succeed in this new millennium, it behooves us to strengthen our brains.

Without help, our brains reach their peak in our twenties and then start deteriorating. By our 40’s we can usually notice a difference. It’s really very similar to what happens to our bodies. On the cognitive level, names disappear and our brains slow down. Multitasking becomes more challenging. The technical term for this is age related cognitive decline. It’s normal, but it’s not nice.

The good news is that there are things that we can do to slow down and reverse this process.

I’d like to give you an analogy from the physical world. In the 2008 Summer Olympics Dara Torres beat out women half her age to bring home silver medals. How did she do that? It wasn’t luck or chance. She created a professional training team to supercharge her body. On the everyday level, if you want to create a functional aesthetically pleasing body, you have a better chance if you work with a professional trainer or at least take a class. If you are extremely motivated, you can create your own program, but most of us do not have this level of commitment.

The key to training our brains is to expose ourselves to new and novel stimulation, continually challenging ourselves to take it to a higher level. Now we can all do this on our own to a certain degree. Crossword puzzles and suduko are good, and Nintendo DS, bridge, golf and bananagrams are even better. Traveling is great, especially if you learn a language, and playing a new musical instrument is a great neuronal enhancer. And don’t forget to eat a healthy diet, get physical exercise and decrease stress.

But the experience is enhanced with the expertise of a brain fitness coach. It is brain science to know that there are many different abilities that need training – logic, memory, attention, processing speed and mental flexibility, to name a few. Creating a training program that compensates for your weaknesses and enhances your strengths is an art.

When you’re looking for a job, you need your brain to be at its best. You need mental flexibility to figure out where the jobs are and how to format your old job qualifications into skills sets that will take you where you want to be. You need auditory processing ability and processing speed to answer questions in an interview. The best way to get these skills is with a brain fitness coach. You can even increase your brain fitness even if you’re dyslexic, have adult ADHD or a brain injury. Those with cognitive challenges often benefit the most.

A brain fitness coach can help you with stress too. It’s so easy for our thoughts to take a negative direction especially when we are looking for a job. Do you really have the luxury of wasting long periods of time in an unnecessary funk?

At Sparks of Genius, we’ve been training people to get the most out of their brains since 2001 and we have been cited as a brain fitness leader in The Wall Street Journal. You can work with your own personalized fitness coach or be part of a group. One day brain fitness coaches will be as popular as life coaches or personal trainers. But for you, that day can be now.

Ninah Kessler, LCSW, Brain Fitness Coach. SparksofGenius.com 561-859-4060

A Pill For Memory? Piracetam Revisited

By Amy Price PhD

One significant problem in traumatic brain injury is that secondary cell death occurs when the injured cells block the path for the other cells to get oxygen. One product that is used extensively in other countries but not the USA is Piracetam. It is interesting that research in pub med is showing promise for efficacy in human trials. There have been rat, rabbit, and fruit fly trials available for years but there is a lot that can differ between these and seeing actual human benefit.

I used this product to good effect many years ago without side effects and am encouraged to see studies supporting its effectiveness. The alternatives available to many people with TBI as far as psychotropic meds to restore some measure of function are concerned can sometimes have unexpected reactions or be of no effect.

Piracetam has been shown to alter the physical properties of the plasma membrane by increasing its fluidity and by protecting the cell against hypoxia. It increases red cell deformability and normalizes aggregation of hyperactive platelets according to Winnicka K, Tomasiak M, Bielawska A (2005) They are saying treatment with piracetam improves learning, memory, brain metabolism, and capacity by the interaction of this molecule with the membrane phospholipids to restore membrane fluidity . The draft below is from smart publications

The positive therapeutic effects of piracetam on cognitive (memory, attention, executive functions) and motor (coordination) functions as well as the speed of cognitive and motor performance were demonstrated in a study done by Zh Nevrol Psikhiatr Im S S Korsakova. 2008 for adolescents who sustained TBI's.

Its efficacy is documented in cognitive disorders and dementia, vertigo, cortical myoclonus, dyslexia, and sickle cell anemia according to Winblad B (2005).

The results of a meta-analysis Waegemans T, Wilsher CR, Danniau A, Ferris SH, Kurz A, Winblad B. (2002) demonstrate a difference between those individuals treated with piracetam and those given placebo, both as significant odds ratio and as a favourable number needed to treat. While there may be problems in meta-analyses and the interpretation of the statistical results, the results of this analysis provide compelling evidence for the global efficacy of piracetam in a diverse group of older subjects with cognitive impairment.

This post does not in any way constitute any medical advice or recommendation. These posts are educational only to share with others some of the direction research is taking. Any medical information gained online should be supported and endorsed by your own doctor.

References:

[The consequences of closed traumatic brain injury and piracetam efficacy in their treatment in adolescents]
Zavadenko NN, Guzilova LS.
Zh Nevrol Psikhiatr Im S S Korsakova. 2008;108(3):43-8. Russian.
PMID: 18427539 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]
Related Articles

Piracetam--an old drug with novel properties?
Winnicka K, Tomasiak M, Bielawska A.
Acta Pol Pharm. 2005 Sep-Oct;62(5):405-9. Review.
PMID: 16459490 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]
Related Articles

Piracetam: a review of pharmacological properties and clinical uses.
Winblad B.
CNS Drug Rev. 2005 Summer;11(2):169-82. Review.
PMID: 16007238 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]
Related Articles

Clinical efficacy of piracetam in cognitive impairment: a meta-analysis.
Waegemans T, Wilsher CR, Danniau A, Ferris SH, Kurz A, Winblad B.
Dement Geriatr Cogn Disord. 2002;13(4):217-24.
PMID: 12006732 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]
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More Than a Wheel Chair

I recently enjoyed a great flight with a group called Paralysed Veterans of America. People of all shapes, sizes and conditions along with dedicated physicians and carers formed a mighty team. These men were on their way to Aspen to ski and they were fun to be with. Even with missing legs,arms, spine injury, blindness, deafness or brain injury their zest for life and care for others was an example of power and unity at work.

The conversation was full of hope for new treatments, medications, regenerative medicine and ways to improve life for their fellow man. They do research,create equipment to make life easier, and help others navigate paperwork so families can put their lives back together

As we talked I learned they do more than ski and race cars. They have lobbied congress on behalf of all of us who are disabled so we are able to use commercial transportation, be treated with courtesy and receive the assistance to get from one location to another. Getting the luggage and extra equipment a disability brings from the customs hall to the next flight, or negotiating airplane steps can appreciate the complications well timed assistance can bring.If you encounter problems travelling with a disability this site can show you what to do They mentor the newcomers on the way out of the old life before the trauma into a destiny where life is not over or lessened it is just different. I heard no useless platitudes like "Get over it, others are worse off" but rather things like "Buddy have you tried this?" or "It will get better, I will go with you".

I was empowered by the raw courage in the face of obstacles others had deemed impossible and their group willingness to give life another chance. Most of these men face daily pain, memories they can not lose and disability yet their indomitable spirits did not quit and they helped each other.

I saw courage and dignity more clearly than in a military parade or in troops ready for action...these men showed us how to live after the party is over and they did it well.

To find out more about them or to donate to make these kind of trips possible see this link I like to remember that their gift of service and the price they paid allows me to walk in freedom. Life is all about giving back to the foundation. When each of us does our part the foundation will be there for us and those who come after us

Dyslexia FMRI implicates Cerebellum

Dyslexic individuals seem to struggle with pattern learning. Reading is like pattern learning on steroids. Recent research compares a group of adult dyslexics with a control group of normal readers in the learning of a simple sequencing task. Participants pressed one of four buttons that corresponded to a visual stimuli that appeared in a predictable pattern during an fMRI scan. Previous studies had found that dyslexics are worse at learning this simple sequence and the researchers were interested in the differences in brain activity between the two groups.

The study found that there was a notable difference in brain activity between dyslexics and non-dyslexics. Significantly the cerebellum was more active in the dyslexics than it was in the non-dyslexics.

Research suggests that the cerebellum plays a key role in learning by comparing what the brain expects to happen with what actually happens. As the subjects learn the sequence, the difference between expected and actual results diminishes and the work load on the cerebellum reduces. In the non-dyslexic brains, the cerebellum is more efficient at this process so sequence learning and the corresponding drop off in cerebellum activity occurs sooner.

It is of interest that expert learners such as chess champions and experts at logic games can play with a lot less cognitive loading, thus freeing up other processing resources for memory, attention and learning. Even for experts this takes hours of practise. Perhaps a focus on effective categorization and efficient filtering rather than endless attention and working memory games could produce skills that would transfer to new areas of learning.

Gain Ground by Building Brain Potential

By Amy Price PhD

Of the 1.4 million who sustain a TBI each year in the United States: 50,000
die; 235,000 are hospitalized; and 1.1 million are treated and released from an
emergency department. The number of people with TBI who are not seen in an
emergency department or who receive no care is unknown.

Major causes of TBI are: Falls (28%); Motor vehicle-traffic crashes
(20%); Struck by/against events (19%); and Assaults (11%). TBI costs the USA
approximately 60 billion dollars per year in care and lost productivity (Statistics supplied by BIAA)

Helmets are often proposed as a cure all. The problem is according to the statistical breakdown above over 50% of related injuries would occur from non helmet activities. Better immediate care and follow up would lessen the severity of impairment for a large proportion of survivors

TBI can cause a wide range of functional changes affecting thinking, language, learning, emotions, behavior, and/or sensation. It can also cause epilepsy and increase the risk for conditions such as Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease, and other brain disorders that become more prevalent with age.

Survivors report the areas they most need help are: Improving memory and problem solving; Managing stress and emotional upsets; Controlling one's temper; and improving social and employment skills.
A mind is a terrible thing to lose...if you have sustained a head injury all is
not lost help is available .The links above in blue contain help and information.

We are often asked how do I find a good treating professional? Ask your local brain injury association. Word of mouth is good. Check with healthcare facilities, neighbors and friends. Find a professional who will work with you or your family member to get results rather than just tell you to learn to adjust to the problem.

Many individuals have run out of health care options. They ask what can be done at home. The Wall Street Journal has an excellent article about how people can be pro-active in retraining their brains. There is continuing research going on in this area. If you have a strategy or treatment that you have found helpful please let us know.

Here is a place where you can try brain games for free. This site is monitored by scientists from Stanford university who are collecting brain function data for a mega study.

Jig saw puzzles can help with spatial function. You can try these free from a simple six piece
puzzle to a 247 piece challenger. Crossword puzzles can help with language and reasoning

The world is a dangerous place, not because of those who do evil, but because of those who look on and do nothing. - Albert Einstein

Stem Cells For Parkinson's

By Amy Price PhD

Can Parkinson's patients benefit for stem cell therapy? The answer is likely that in the future this will be possible. Right now stem cells for orthopedic applications are a working reality and cardiac
applications are showing great success.

It was interesting to see a company with customer testimonials claiming success for Parkinson's . What happens is they are injecting stem cells intravenously and claiming these cell are migrating to the brain to "fix" Parkinson's. There are big problems with this...some cells migrate but the number of cells that would actually make it to the brain are fewer than finding a friend in a 50,000 seat foot ball stadium, the rest of the cells go the the lungs and then are reabsorbed by the body and filtered out through the liver and excreted by body wastes. Patients are paying thousands of dollars and travel expenses for cells they will end up flushing.

Think about it this way. If cultured cells could just fix things intravenously why would leukemia
patients even need bone marrow transplants? With Parkinson's the underlying cell structure in the brain has been compromised and unless that is restructured new cells will be taken over like ants on a chocolate cake. For stem cells to work treatment needs to be targeted and care needs to be given as to how to best treat the underlying problem.

So why are some Parkinson's "patients" saying it could be working for them?
First of all Parkinson's is a dopamine deficiency issue. Anytime we do something
that brings pleasure or excitement, dopamine is circulated. For a short period of time patient's actually feel better. This principle is biological not psychosomatic. Plus the cells have some anti inflammatory properties so this benefit is felt as a temporary relief from pain.

Just after Thanksgiving a family member ran over our cat in full view of three small children. Having done some veterinary work and some first aid I could see the cat was not long for this world. She was bleeding from her mouth and her lungs were filling with blood and yet I held her in my arms and my son and I drove to the vet in hopes that someone bigger and smarter could do something...they couldn't. I guess I would do the same for a person I cared about and so would a lot of people. This makes us vulnerable in spite of knowledge so even when a celebrity claims to be healed it may not be the whole story. About the Parkinson's stem cells.... no fMRI or electrical studies of before and after treatments are shown and a search on PubMed turned up nothing.

This is in stark contrast to stemcell company scientists who publish research results and actual case studies to show where and how treatment is progressing. One question to ask when you are considering a new medical treatment is do the people I am dealing with offer any other options in case of candidates that are not suitable for the procedure?

What can you do right now until stem cells catch up with the ability to treat
brain disorders? There are meds, deep brain stimulation and brain training
options that can all help. The love and care we surround people with also makes
maximum use of the dopamine available and can enhance the quality of life for a
loved one with Parkinson's.....keep posted as soon as we see safe viable
treatment it will be posted here!

Your Brain On Trauma

By Amy Price PhD

Brains have axons. These are tiny fibers that are like an electronic circuit board. Axons make brain communication possible. If these are stretched past ten percent of their length they can not function and the connection is broken. To put this in perspective you can stretch your hair sixty percent beyond its length before it breaks. Broken connections mean lost function. Hair can be broken simply by running a brush through it. We seldom question the news when we are told the ninety pound teenager shook the baby to death. Yet when an adult brain is shaken by the impact of a 2500 pound car people think this could not happen. The injured are often asked if they were unconscious. The sad truth is that most brain injured people will not know if they were unconscious and will just say no.

The brain...you can build it a team can help!

Dr. Gail Denton author of the best selling book Brainlash states the Brain Injured person needs a team to restore their potential. Dr Denton wrote the first addition of this book after she sustained a brain injury. She is a successful artist, author and therapy consultant. She is presently working on research to determine the optimal brain diet and has contracted with her publisher to produce a new book featuring food for the brain and great recipes. Brain Injury does not have to be a death sentence! For helpful strategies for yourself or others take a look at this book!

Every brain injury is unique. Recovery usually does not mean returning to who and how you were before, but rather finding a new relationship to your abilities and your world. Lisa sustained a brain injury in 1993. She used her recovery to create a remarkable tool for individuals and families that struggle with brain injury. The kit was developed with Sandra J. Knutson, CRC, CDMS, CCM, Lisa’s former brain injury caseworker, and a thirty-year veteran in the brain injury recovery community. The Brain Injury Recovery Kit™ (BIRK) was created by Lisa Keller.

Try the complimentary 39 Point Learning Assessment to see if you can be set free from brain fog and live in the land of clarity! Try some free brain games to help with brain fog. CDC has published a helpful guide about what to do if you or a loved one has experienced a head injury with or without loss of consciousness. It is free http://www.cdc.gov/ncipc/tbi/tbibook.pdf

'Peace is not the absence of war....it is a deposition for benevolence, confidence and justice' (Francis Bacon)

Dopamine in the Human Brain…Increases With Sleep Deficit

Even one night without sleep can increase the amount of dopamine in the human brain, according to new imaging research in the August 20 issue of The Journal of Neuroscience. Dopamine and endorphins are keys to promote pain relief in the human body. On one hand, when endorphins are released in response to pain, dopamine seems to be triggered to move into the frontal lobe of the brain, neutralizing the feeling of pain.

On the other hand, when dopamine levels are too high, they tend to reduce the amount of endorphins available for pain relief. That may be why antidepressants that are designed to reduce dopamine levels sometimes relieve chronic pain--they allow endorphin levels to stay higher than when excessive dopamine is present. Vigorous exercise and sweets can increase Dopamine, moderate exercise releases endorphins. Because drugs that increase dopamine, like amphetamines, promote wakefulness, the findings offer a potential mechanism explaining how the brain helps people stay awake despite the urge to sleep.

The study also shows that the increase in dopamine cannot compensate for the cognitive deficits caused by sleep deprivation. Given this research it seems that depression, brain fog, chronic pain, weight gain and insomnia may be trauma related rather than social psychological factors as previously imagined

Is There A Teen Driver in The House

Are you concerned with your teen driving a car? This concern is likely valid as teens have the highest injury and mortality rates and crashes are the leading cause of accidental death, disability and head injuries for this age group. USA today in an article last week quoted research which shows that teens with attention problems are five times as likely to get in an accident as the rest of the population.

There is equipment that can test your teen’s attention levels and improve their ability to resist distraction and stay on task. One of the programs used simulates road conditions to improve reaction time with practice before your teen gets on the road. Other programs help teens recognize their attention levels and teach them to self correct so they do not ‘space out’

They will not learn these skills in driver ed. This is a great way to equip the young driver in your household or restore skills to older drivers who see themselves as losing focus. Information about safe cars, saving your neck and how to adjust the headrest are available for free through the courtesy of the Save Your Neck Program sponsored by The Spinal Injury Foundation. Please click here for more info: http://spinalinjuryfoundation.org/neck.htm

For more information on programs to help driving skills an a free 39 point learning assessment you can take online click here

http://www.sparksofgenius.com/screens.html

Memory Help

In MVA involving injury memory deficits can become an issue. Pain and lack of sleep contribute to this as do many of the medications prescribed to make it go away. There is anxiety and grief over financial loss or changed status. This compounds the issue. Each year more money is spent on pet food than for treatment to restore survivors of mild traumatic brain injury. Eighty percent of individuals diagnosed with mild brain injury have needs pertaining to the injury that are not presently met by current legislation. Treatment is described as too little, too late.

It was once thought that if there was no improvement in cognitive status in the first six months following an injury further progress would be minimal. Advances in science show this is no longer an absolute. Progress is possible.Every year Traumatic Brain Injury causes 20 times more disabilities than AIDS, Breast Cancer, Spinal Cord Injuries, and Multiple Sclerosis combined. Traumatic Brain Injuries have claimed more lives than all U.S. wars combined since 1977. Approximately 1.5 million Americans sustain a Traumatic Brain Injury each year. Traumatic Brain Injury is the number one cause of both death and disability in children and young adults.

WHAT IT DOES & HOW IT WORKS

Do you need help fixing your broken brain? Even if you don’t this article contains great strategies for improving memory skills and coping with life.
Want help with your memory? Let us look together at where the problem might be so we can suggest solutions. Information is first filtered through the senses (seeing, hearing, touching, smelling) or sensory memory. The sensory input combines with what we already know as the brain attempts to classify the information before it is encoded into our memories. Before it can be encoded accurately we have to pay attention or attend to it. The brain has only a few seconds of what is called working memory to encode material. When the information is needed we call on it to come out. This process is called retrieval.

POSITIVE STRATEGIES FOR A VARIETY OF SITUATIONS

Retrieval can be enhanced by rehearsal. The most common kind of rehearsal is saying something like a phone number over and over until it sticks in the brain. This is a problem for a person with memory deficits as by the time they get to the last number they forget what it is! In this case there is an unorthodox but useful strategy called chunking, instead of remembering numbers digit by digit such as 301 5700 think of three hundred one, fifty seven hundred. There are other solutions, write information down while repeating it to your self or ask someone else to write it for you. This is most useful when someone is giving you directions. The next step is to read the information back to who ever you got it from and ask them if your version is correct. This is also good for reinforcing understanding in conversation as sometimes what someone says to us is different to what we heard them say or is not what they meant.

To deal with problems of losing things here is some help. Pick places where you are comfortable storing things like keys, licenses etc. Make it a habit to always put them back in those places only. Write down where these places are and put it somewhere you will see it everyday in case you forget. When you go to a store only take something that can be attached to your body, forget about the purse that could be left in the shopping cart or car keys you carry in your hands.
When the memory is less than stellar even a parking lot can seem like a hopeless maze. Most cell phones have voice recorders on them as do many other devices. Record where you parked the car, for example the car is at exit c parking lot level three, third car down. Pay attention to which store you enter and what is close to the door, for example Macy’s, men’s shoes. This way if you get lost you can ask someone where these landmarks are and find your way.

Here is another strategy A piece of paper/card with a grid (kids math jotter paper with the little blocks) with place for a couple of stores names around the periphery or a land marks/monument, a McDonalds or a gas station and make an X in the block of the area where you best estimate your car is. A good place to put ID, credit card, money, parking lot stubs is in a 'fanny pack'. If you can not remember how to get somewhere or get home buy a turn by turn GPS or phone a non judgmental friend.

There are many kinds of memory, visual auditory episodic, semantic, conceptual and more. This is good news because it means that you can use another kind of memory to enhance which ever kind is not working for you right now.

Here are some useful strategies. To remember an event think about what else you did, where it happened, the conditions around the event, ask your self how you felt that day, who was with you even what you did afterwards. Anyone of these can release a cue to help you remember.
To remember Peoples' names, think about where you first met the person or go through the alphabet mentally, sometimes it helps to recall their significant others’ names or occupation. Just one piece of information can trigger the missing link. If all else fails ask them for a business card and read it or ask how they spell their names.

Learning something?-To remember something you need to learn, teach it to someone else, read your notes on tape and play them as you walk or at the gym, create a mind map or make the information into a story. Trouble finding words, look up a word that means the same in a good dictionary usually the synonyms will be displayed and your missing word will show up. A good dictionary can also show you how to pronounce words you have forgotten how to say. Forget how to spell it and spell check is not bright enough to figure it out? Break the word into syllables and spell the part you can figure out, from here spell check may pick it up or you may remember the whole word.

In the kitchen-For kitchen memories….don’t leave the room or be otherwise distracted when you have a pot on the stove. The same people that distracted you will remind you over and over about how you forgot something again! Do one thing at a time until your memory is healed, your ability to multitask will usually return. Buy appliances that turn off automatically, this may be expensive initially however it is cheaper than a house fire! Discipline yourself to use timers.
Often individuals forget steps of a process/task. In this case it is useful to lay everything out ahead of time. Think through what steps you need to take to complete a process/task. If this is difficult get someone to help you and write it down or record it for yourself.

For schedules…got an appointment write it down, put it on the computer, in the day timer or on a PDA. Another method is to call your telephone answering service and leave your self messages as they come up. Alternately make a list and number it for priorities then cross them off when you are finished. Too busy to prioritize…you are too busy! Make changes or you will get buried.
I Hope this helps some, nobody remembers everything so don’t beat yourself up. Keep working at it slowly and surely the more you use your brain the better it will get.

Change Your Mind With Nintendo DS

Professor Kawashima followed his dream. When he was a boy he saw himself putting his brain on a computer system. He believed that if he could represent mental functioning on a computer, he would be able to understand how people’s brains worked. On his journey he created the Nintendo DS brain training games. These games are inter-generational tools that are entertaining to people of all ages. Dr. Kawashima studied brain response with pet scans. He found when people simply watch television, brain zones that handle sound and sight respond. When playing a video game, zones that deal with motion and color respond. The part of the brain that really helps us think is called the prefrontal cortex. It is not stimulated with either of these activities.

Difficult math does not light up this part of the brain either, but simple math done under speed conditions makes a big difference. Reading silently does not use this part of the brain as much as when we read out loud. Dr. Kawashimi developed games that stimulate the prefrontal cortex. So the principle is to work out with your brain and have fun!
He came under fire because a British newspaper quoted him as saying videogames harm the brain. This is not actually true. He said videogames de-activate the prefrontal cortex. Professor Kawashima has four children. He let them all play video games but only for one hour every day. His reasoning was that sometimes the brain just needs to rest and video games were not harmful. He has done tests on elderly Japanese people. What he found was that solving mental puzzles can often arrest cognitive decline. Dr. Kawashimi says ‘I cannot comment on whether the illness of dementia is cured or not, but with these methods symptoms of dementia certainly improve”.

Other virtual activities that were once exclusively the domain of the young are being used with increasing success to rehabilitate older adults and bring them quality of life. In some senior centers card games and crossword puzzles are being replaced with virtual reality bowling or tennis. Crossword puzzles and sudoku are played in groups with computers and a mouse. These are much easier to navigate than small pieces of wood and studies have shown that simulated activities are almost as useful for practice as the real thing.

Some other scientists are jealous and treat his work with disparaging remarks such as there has not been enough time to test this or there is little empirical evidence. Other scientists like Dr. Posner are finding exciting results after only a few sessions with brain fitness tools. Scientists are testing brain games and finding increased brain fitness from the very old to the very young. Some say Professor Kawashimi is in it for the money. This is sad as all the royalties from the games and the books he wrote about the mind go entirely to the University. Dr. Kawashimi feels as a scientist it is his obligation and the obligation of others to return the results of our research to society.

This story is adapted from an article by Richard Lloyd Parry of the Times newspaper, London UK