Preface

     It is estimated that there are approximately 27,000 students who have experienced a brain injury in the classrooms of Ontario. This manual is intended as a resource to anyone involved in the education of a student who is living with the effects of an acquired brain injury. It grew out of my own frustration at the lack of resources and knowledge in the field. This became apparent when I was challenged to teach these very special students. One of my goals when I started my new career at the Ontario Brain Injury Association was to provide teachers with a resource that would help them to help students living and learning with the effects of an acquired brain injury.

     In this endeavour, I’ve had the good fortune to work with Dr. Dawn Good, Chair of the Psychology Department at Brock University, Dr. Sheila Bennett, Associate Professor, Faculty of Education at Brock University, and a number of extraordinary research assistants. This group has spent 3 years researching and developing the materials that are provided here. Educators are invited to use them, copy them and share them—free of charge. We also invite you to contact us at OBIA, tel: 1-800-263-5404, or by email: obia@obia.on.ca, for further information. In addition, information is available on a special web site developed in conjunction with this project: www.abieducation.com.

     Our deepest appreciation goes out to the many educators who participated in this study and to the Ontario Neurotrauma Foundation, which funded the project.

Sincerely,
John Kumpf
Executive Director, OBIA
Primary Investigator, ONF Project