News Blog

It’s not just the NFL. Concussions among high school football, basketball and rugby players are vastly underreported and underestimated and are hurting student-athlete in the classroom, according to testimony on Capitol Hill on Thursday.

Sports-injury pros are trying to get young players to follow the motto “When in doubt, sit it out.” But too many athletes feel pressure from coaches and teammates — and occasionally from parents and themselves — to get back in the game despite an injury that turns out to be a concussion.

Michelle Pelton, a 19-year-old former high school basketball and softball player from Swansea, Mass., told the House Education and Labor Committee: “I received 5 concussions … during my high school years. … While all my classmates were involved in senior activities I was home depressed and in constant pain, and life had become a blur. ... I lost potential four-year scholarships. … My dreams were crushed.”

Read more of this story at Politico.

Tennesseans seeking assistance with a brain injury can contact Project BRAIN Coordinator Paula Denslow at paula_d@tndisability.org. 

People who experience serious head injuries often require days -- if not weeks -- of medical care to get back on their feet. For most of them, the mental aftershocks will last long after they've checked out of the hospital.

More than half of all people who suffer a traumatic brain injury will become depressed in the year after the injury, a rate eight times higher than in the general population, according to a new study in the Journal of the American Medical Association. And only about 45 percent of those who do become depressed are likely to receive adequate treatment.

"We're not talking about normal day-to-day changes in mood, but symptoms that last for more than two weeks," says the lead author of the study, Charles Bombardier, Ph.D., professor of rehabilitation medicine at the University of Washington School of Medicine.

To read more of this article from CNN.

Tennesseans seeking assistance with a brain injury can contact Project BRAIN Coordinator Paula Denslow at paula_d@tndisability.org.

The first voter Train-the-Trainer conference in 2008 was so successful, we’re doing it again!  Gear up for Election 2010 and join the Disability Law and Advocacy Center to learn about disability voting rights. Trainings will be one full day and will be offered in each of the three grand regions. 

WHAT DOES TRAINING INCLUDE?

1. Voting Accessibility - A chance to talk about voting accessibility issues with disability advocates, self-advocates, support professionals and election officials.  Some topics include:
• The Help America Vote Act
• Barriers in voting
• Potential solutions to barriers and
• Step-by-step training on how to educate others
2. Training Toolkit
3. Assistance coordinating and conducting training

WHAT IS REQUIRED?

Training Partners - Each applicant must apply as a team with at least one other person.

Conducting Training - Each team will be responsible for holding at least one training in their area.

DLAC Will be available to help teams form voter outreach strategies within their communities

WHEN AND WHERE

Nashville – Monday, June 28th

Knoxville – Wednesday, June 30th

Memphis – Thursday, July 8th

All trainings will be from 9am – 4pm.  Lunch will be provided.

Conference is free for accepted participants and travel stipends are available.

APPLICATION DEADLINE - Friday, June 11th 

Download an application

For questions or more information contact Kate Georgen Seipel at kateg@dlactn.org 

About the Program

Disability Law & Advocacy Center of Tennessee (DLAC) is the nonprofit protection and advocacy agency which advocates for the rights of people with disabilities throughout Tennessee.  As part of a mandate from the Help America Vote Act 2002 (HAVA), DLAC provides education and training on voting barriers and potential solutions. 

In 2008, the agency was selected by the National Technical Assistance Center for Voting and Cognitive Access to host a statewide training conference on voting access for individuals with disabilities.  We are proud to continue this successful event in 2010. 

The training material offers Tennessee-specific disability voting information.  Participants will also benefit from a diverse classroom of self-advocates, disability advocates, support professionals, special education professionals, state agencies, and election officials.

Are you constantly running after your little tyke as he/she crawls at the speed of light or toddle off before you know it?  Do they like to throw stuff?  Run?  Well, here's a chance for you and your toddler to do that and more with some upcoming events.

ASD Social Group - Video Games and Pizza

Who: Kids from 5th to 8th grade who are on the Autism Spectrum (Aspergers, PDD, Autism)
Date/time: Sunday, May 23, 2:00 to 4:00pm
Location: Play and Trade (next to Rave Theater)
Sponsor: Chattanooga Autism Center (Pizza donated by Big Daddy Pizza).

Focus is on having fun but also an opportunity to practice social skills and have more social interactions.

Please contact Alyce Benson to register or get more information:  423-622-0500 or e-mail abenson@teamcenters.org

 

 

NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- The Tennessee Tower is home to numerous state departments. About 10 years ago, a bathroom designed to accommodate citizens with disabilities was added to each floor as a part of a $24 million renovation.The Channel 4 I-Team found all of those bathrooms unlocked except one. Read more at http://www.wsmv.com/news/23507704/detail.html