BrainSTEPS - Traumatic Brain Injury Re-Entry Program

Each year, over 3,000 of Pennsylvania’s children survive severe traumatic brain injuries significant enough to require hospitalization. Many are left with life-altering difficulties in physical, cognitive, or behavioral functioning. The Brain Injury Association of Pennsylvania, under contract from the PA Department of Health and partnered with the PA Department of Education, has created the Child & Adolescent Brain Injury School Re-entry Program called BrainSTEPS (Strategies Teaching Educators, Parents, and Students). BrainSTEPS is working to make sure that those who must provide educational support to children with TBI have a good understanding of brain injury, the resulting challenges, and supports and interventions that will help these students achieve educational success through graduation.

• Education professionals, medical rehabilitation professionals, and family members comprise the BrainSTEPS Teams.
• Team members receive ongoing training from local and nationally recognized leaders in the field of pediatric brain injury.
• BrainSTEPS team members will be available to provide “BrainSTEPS 101” presentations, helping schools compensate for the lack of brain injury training in college teacher training programs.
• Team members can provide training and consultation regarding identification, school re-entry planning, IEP development, intervention selection and implementation, long-term monitoring of students and other issues professionals face in supporting students with brain injury.
• Ongoing training and support will be provided to the teams by the BrainSTEPS Program Coordinator.
• Consultation is available to teams through the BrainSTEPS Program, on a case by case basis by medical rehabilitation professionals.
  
  

Mission Statement
The CIU 20 BrainSTEPS Consultation Team is committed to the successful school re-entry of children and adolescents in Northampton, Monroe, and Pike counties school districts who have experienced brain injury, mild to severe. Our goal as a multidisciplinary team is to work cooperatively with families, medical facilities, school districts, and community agencies in the provision of outreach services including, but not limited to, the training of key personnel, liaison/family support, educational needs identification, educational plan development, educational plan implementation, and the monitoring/trouble shooting of educational service delivery. It is our fervent belief that through the pooling of interdisciplinary resources within our service area, it will be possible to maximize positive outcomes for our students, both now and in the future.

Take a look at our BrainSTEPS Brochure