advocacy Archives - Beechwood NeuroRehab

Dr. Drew Nagele Featured in Recent Publications

May 17, 2018

Beechwood NeuroRehab Exective Director Dr. Drew Nagele’s study entitled “A call for implementing preferred practices for brain injury screening in youth to improve transition” was recently featured in NeuroRehabilitation: An Interdisciplinary Journal. The newsletter can be accessed here.

A research study co-authored by Nagele titled “The Under-Identification of Brain Injuries and the Relationship with Juvenile (and Eventually Adult) Criminal Justice” was recently published in the Brain Injury Professional. The outcome is the result of work being done at Beechwood NeuroRehab, in conjunction with the Brain Injury Association of Pennsylvania, as well as policy work being done by the National Collaborative on Children’s Brain Injury (NCCBI). You can read the full article here.

Multiple Speaking Engagements for Beechwood Executive Director Dr. Drew Nagele

May 16, 2018

On May 17, Beechwood NeuroRehab Executive Director Dr. Drew Nagele spoke at the Brain Injury Alliance of New Jersey’s Annual Seminar in Freehold, NJ. Dr. Nagele presented at the morning workshop and spoke about the “Under-Identification of Students with Long Term Disability from Moderate to Severe TBI in Schools”.

Dr. Nagele also presented at Capitol Hill Brain Injury Awareness Day on Tuesday, March 20. The theme of this year’s Capitol Hill Brain Injury Awareness Day was “Looking Ahead: Opportunities and Challenges in Brain Injury” focusing on rehabilitation and community services. Dr. Nagele presented research work in Juvenile Justice conducted by BIA of PA at the Congressional Briefing Panel.

Dr. Nagele spoke at the National Collaborative on Children’s Brain Injury at the North American Brain Injury Society Conference in Houston on March 14. He also presented on the Under-Identification of Students with Long Term Disability from Moderate to Severe TBI in Schools at the Brain Injury Alliance of New Jersey annual seminar in May.

Dr. Nagele is also presenting at the Federal Interagency Conference on Traumatic Brain Injury in Washington DC in June, 2018, and at the Brain Injury Association of Pennsylvania’s Annual Conference coming up at the end of June in Lancaster, PA.

Report to Congress on The Management of TBI in Children

February 21, 2018

Dr. Drew Nagele, the Executive Director of Beechwood NeuroRehab, recently served as an external reviewer of the CDC report to Congress on “The Management of TBI in Children”. Click to read the full report here.

Striving for People-First Language

May 24, 2016

The Power of Words

It has been nearly 25 years since Kathie Snow, an author and public speaker, published her first article addressing the notion of “People-First Language”. Inspired by her son Benjamin, who was diagnosed with cerebral palsy when he was four months old, Snow encouraged everyone to utilize “People-First Language”, which puts the person before the disability and describes what a person has, not who a person is. For example, saying “she has autism” instead of “she’s autistic” or “people with disabilities” instead of “the handicapped or disabled”.

Fast forward to 2016 and Snow is still making the rounds to educate parents, educators, and the general public about language sensitivity and an updated article entitled “To Ensure Inclusion, Freedom, and Respect for all, we must use People First Language” is utilized as a handout for training programs around the country. In the article, Snow makes several interesting observations including the fact that “people with disabilities constitute our nation’s largest minority group” (one in five Americans has a condition that is considered to be a disability) and also points out that this group is the only one that any person can become a part of, at any time.

Each person struggles and succeeds in different ways. There are very few people out there who would prefer to be categorized by their “problems” (whether it is a physical disability, depression, anxiety, obesity, anorexia, or a number of other common issues) rather than the qualities, talents, and characteristics that make us all unique. The sooner we embrace and utilize “People-First Language”, the sooner we can embrace each other as individuals and work to make this world a better place for everyone.