Resources

Facts About Brain Injury

We had the opportunity to sit down with DrRolf B. Gainer, Ph.D., the founder and Chief Executive Officer of the Neurologic Rehabilitation Institute at Brookhaven Hospital and the Neurologic Rehabilitation Institute of Ontario (Canada). Dr. Gainer is a psychologist who is involved in the design and operation of community-based rehabilitation programs for people with a brain injury. Dr. Gainer shares his knowledge about severe brain injury in this interview.

Woman in wheelchair playing tennis

Residential Rehab Breakfast Seminars

Through the sharing of knowledge and information, individuals with brain injury will obtain the best possible care and our referral partners will receive the best possible service.

Each spring and fall, we offer a series of Breakfast seminars to anyone involved in the field of Rehabilitation and Acquired Brain Injury.

Where? – Etobicoke Clinic, 59 Beaver Bend Crescent Etobicoke, ON M9B 5R2
416-231-4358 ext. 37122

ABI Day Program

Please join us for a range of events and activities throughout the month

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Contact: Kindree Alkins at (416) 231-4358 ext. 37126 or nriogroups@nrio.ca

Senior Day Program

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You can also view videos and download articles

Video Presentations

Personal Injury Alliance Supports The Brain Injury Society of Toronto
5K Run, Walk & Roll – September 21, 2013

What is Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy? — presented by Ann McKee, MD

ACT 2014 — On June 14th, 2014, at Toronto’s St. Michaels Hospital, Daniel Bax launched Awaken Canada Together (ACT). This conference brought traditional and non-traditional treatments for brain injuries into dialogue. Click here for more information on ACT.

Discharged Client shares a video and thanks our program

Recent Articles

Q & A with Daniel Bax, Inspirational Speaker, Author, Recovery Coach, and ABI Survivor

Daniel Bax is a motivational speaker and recovery coach who was injured in a motor vehicle accident in 2005. Daniel has an amazing story and loves to share his experiences with others. Motivated by his own struggles and successes, Daniel now gives talks to medical professionals, rehabilitation providers, traumatic injury survivors and more.

Special Video Message from Daniel Bax

Unlocking the Myths: Keys to Success – Effective Behavioural Strategies for Children and Youth with Acquired Brain Injury – Presented by: Catherine Dodds and Rebecca Swift-Weir

One of the most distressing consequences of acquired brain injury is personality change and challenging behaviour. Family members of children and youth with ABI often report that they can cope with changes in their child’s physical and cognitive needs, but it is the behavioral issues, which impact on the child’s ability to learn and to complete daily routines, that they find the most difficult to understand.
Behaviours that emerge after a brain injury are unique to each child and are usually linked to cognitive issues. What is often labeled as “acting out” or “inappropriate behaviour” may actually be a result of loss of cognitive skills which have been affected by the injury, such as confusion about what is expected, difficulty understanding abstract language, lack of insight into limitations and memory impairment, to name a few. Children with ABI cannot benefit from consequence-based models of behavioral intervention when the injury impacts their ability to remember rules from day to day, nor when they are unable to anticipate the consequence of their behaviour.

This interactive workshop, designed for parents as well as professionals, will introduce participants to an approach to managing challenging behaviours in children with acquired brain injury that focuses on interventions which anticipate behaviour rather than react to behaviour.

Participants will explore their own ideas of challenging behaviours and will build a strategy keychain to effectively work with children with acquired brain injury who exhibit those behaviours.

Thank you, NRIO!

Our son, JC, suffered a catastrophic brain injury as a result of a workplace accident in October, 2015. It was the beginning of a traumatic and difficult journey for him and ourselves, as parents. In his early thirties, it was shocking and so stressful to cope with the situation our son was in … no mobility on his right side (arm & leg), inability to speak, and unconscious for a good part of those early months. After three operations and 7 months in hospitals, followed by a 10 week rehabilitation program, his recovery was only in its early stages. At that time, our son’s mobility was very limited although he was able to use a wheel-chair and his speech was almost incomprehensible.

Luckily, NRIO was recommended to us for follow up. We spoke to Colleen, the director, who was not only supportive & easy to talk to, but experienced and knowledgeable about the path ahead for JC. She clearly described NRIO’s approach and predicted prognosis after a stay at NRIO … accurately as in turns out.

Our son arrived at NRIO’s Mississauga residence in July, 2016 in a wheelchair, with extremely limited speech capability and little ability to handle every-day living. A year later, he is walking with a cane or hiking sticks outside, and on his own inside. His ability to speak is impressive … he can now explain himself and how he feels … despite the fact that he cannot put names to things or people. And he has gained the ability and confidence to care for his own hygiene needs, do his own laundry and tidying of his room, grocery shopping with assistance and simple food preparation.

In looking back, NRIO was a godsend to our son and to ourselves. After dealing with the trauma of the accident and his long hospital stays, as parents we felt overwhelmed, and lacked the energy, knowledge and skills to deal with all our son’s multi-faceted needs. We have found NRIO to be extremely proficient at identifying and providing a myriad of resources necessary to support our son’s recovery. Their focus is the client, and they tailor each program to suit the personality and interests of each individual. For example, they increased the number of speech therapy sessions to ensure our son’s progress. They also found a woodworking programme which our son, a talented tradesman & qualified electrician, truly enjoyed as it made him feel “normal”.

One of the key reasons for success in promoting JC’s recovery, has been that, in addition to receiving excellent speech, occupational and physio therapy, rehabilitation therapists (RTs) provide follow-up practice and exercises according to the main therapist’s instructions, so that down time is limited. In our son’s case, he has always been an active person who needs to be busy. In addition, as in a home environment, and of utmost benefit, the RTs actively and personally engage with each client, whether by encouraging activities (walks, games, outings, etc.), talking and/or joking, or by just keeping the client company.

We also so appreciated the support given to us medically, as NRIO staff would attend doctor’s appointments with us to outline concerns they had witnessed, or accompany our son to hospital and remain with him for as long as was required when he suffered significant seizures. This was especially appreciated if we were unable to attend. NRIO kept us up to date at those times and provided us with relief knowing our son was being so well cared for.

As our experience at NRIO comes to end, we can only say that we are so grateful to have found them! Their staff has been nothing short of outstanding … in fact, there are too many to commend individually. Because of NRIO’s expertise and caring team, we are bringing JC home in a state that is so totally improved, that it is amazing. We cannot say enough about NRIO’s skilled contributions to JC’s rehabilitation progress and to our own peace of mind. We have no qualms is saying that NRIO is an incredible organization that is skilled at producing remarkable results, and we highly recommend them to anyone in need of brain rehabilitation. We know there is still a long recovery journey ahead for JC, but, because of NRIO, we have a good base from which to go forward.

We will be forever thankful for NRIO.

-Mr. and Mrs. C.-

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