USA Hosts Traumatic Brain Injury Camp
Posted on July 10, 2024 by Logan Gatlin
The Pat Capps Covey College of Allied Health Professions at the University of South Alabama teamed up with the Alabama Head Injury Foundation for a three-day Bright Ideas Traumatic Brain Injury Camp for survivors and families dealing with life-altering injuries.
Workshop sessions provided attendees, including 15 survivors and 15 caregivers, with new methods, strategies and technologies to help improve their quality of life.
The multidisciplinary effort also involved undergraduate recreational therapy students in the Department of Health, Kinesiology and Sport in the College of Education and Professional Studies. Also, graduate students in the Department of Psychology in the College of Arts and Sciences supported this camp.
"We are here to promote health and engage TBI patients,” said Aspyn Godwin, a graduate student from Silver Hill, Alabama, studying occupational therapy at South. “We teach them how to be safe by showing them their limitations and what they can keep working on. This camp helps them stay connected to the community."
At the camp, USA students got to test their skills with local TBI survivors in the community. The students checked survivors’ progress in different types of therapy and what they could work on to improve their abilities.
“This was a fantastic experience,” said Annie Griffin, a doctoral student in the occupational therapy program at South who’s from Pisgah, Alabama. “This is my third semester and my first clinical experience. My goal following graduation is to care for pediatric patients. During this camp, I was excited to help care for an adult patient.”
The Alabama Head Injury Foundation has partnered with several universities across the state of Alabama. These therapy-based camps utilize students while they develop action plans for survivors and caregivers seeking to improve their adjustment to living with TBI.