Question
After sustaining a mild TBI I am struggling to put an independent life together again. Are there Life Planners that can help you lay out a reasonable plan for living independently again and and offer creative ideas and help with finding available programs, agency supports and resources? If they do exist, what job title do they use?  I have done an enormous amount of on-line research but find that with a cognitive disability I am not as adept at finding my way through the maize. Are there websites that you would recommend that you find most helpful?     

I am 55, planning a return to graduate school after a leave of absence to finish my degree in Counseling Psychology.  I expect that I will be able to maintain a 20-30 hour a week practice after finishing school and certification and plan to work as a therapist within the brain injury community.  

My immediate concern is finding financial, academic/student and transportation resources. I live in PA and my personal research has led me to OVR who is helping me with an assistive technology evaluation, but does not provide aid for graduate level work. I have found the PASS program which allows you to save for return to work expenses including school costs or a vehicle purchase. I currently receive SSDI monthly and live with my son.  I have not been able to afford to buy a car which would ease my transportation costs to and from outpatient rehab which is two hours away. My rehab will continue until Fall when I return to school.  I need to finish my remaining classes and clinical hours by June of 2010 or lose my placement in the Program. Given I have so  little to finish, I need to find the resources I need to complete the degree.  Other than OVR and Social Security's Return to Work Program, how can I quickly find any other resources that can help me finish this degree within my time limits?  Does a thing like a "Disability Life Coach" exist or are we really left to find what we need on our own?  I assume that there must be a web site that has a resource listing by categories such as school, housing, transportation etc.  Ideas?

Answer
Hello Kathie,

Here is an option, if you haven't tried it already:

Brain Injury Resource Line (BIRL) toll free 1-866-635-7097 or 1-800-444-6443

The Brain Injury Resource Line (BIRL) is a toll free number, maintained by the Brain Injury Association of Pennsylvania.  It is designed to give resource information to all who call.  Since its inception. in 2002, volunteers have handled over 2,000 phone calls.  
A call to this number will connect you to a recording which invites you to leave your telephone number (including area code).  These calls are then assigned to a volunteer who will return the call to provide resource information.  The goal of our BIRL volunteers is to return all calls within three work days.

Professional brain injury staff and trained volunteers respond to callers, utilizing the on-line database of resources and information, specific to the caller's area of the state. The BIRL volunteers offer support, compassion, and expert information tailored to the caller's needs. Follow-up calls are provided where indicated, and all calls are logged on a database for ensuring follow-up and for further developing assessments of need. An electronic and printed literature library is maintained for distribution of TBI materials to callers, including a website, resource directory, and TBI links so that all people who are affected by TBI are able to efficiently and effectively get the information they need to deal with the injury.


Let me know if this helps. If not, I will try to research more for you.

Sincerely,

Jon Eriquezzo