The 3rd Annual Black Hills Brain Injury Conference will be held on May 8th & 9th, 2008 at the Rushmore Plaza Holiday Inn in Rapid City, South Dakota. This year we are partnering with Regional Health/Regional Rehabilitation Institute to bring a larger and even better regional conference. Dr. George Prigatano, Dr. Pauline Boss and brain injury survivor Jackie Pflug are just a few of our scheduled nationally renowned speakers. We plan to have tracks for both professionals and family members and survivors. Conference registration fees for the two day conference will be $140 for professionals and $55 for non-professionals. Click the links below for a registration form, vendor booth form, or the agenda. We hope to see you there! 3rd Annual Black Hills Brain Injury Conference Registration Form/Brochure (Click Here for Info) 2008 Conference Agenda (Click Here) Conference Vendor Application Form (Click Here) Featured Conference Presenters and Topics: Jackie Pflug, nationally-known lecturer and author of Miles to Go Before I Sleep. Here is part of Jackie's story: "On Thanksgiving weekend in November of 1985, I was flying to Cairo, Egypt from Athens, Greece, where I had attended a volleyball tournament with a group of students. At the time, I was a special education teacher at the Cairo American School. Ten minutes into EgyptAir Flight #648, three terrorists, calling themselves "The Egypt Revolution," hijacked our flight.
A gun battle ensued as the terrorists took control of the flight at an altitude of 35,000 feet. We were forced to land in Valetta, Malta. The terrorists began to execute one passenger every 15 minutes until their demands for fuel were met. Like four passengers before me, I was shot at point blank range, execution style, thrown from the plane onto the tarmac and left for dead. For five hours, I drifted in and out of consciousness until an airport grounds crew retrieved my body on its way to the morgue. Fifty-nine passengers died during the ordeal.
I lived.
Over the years, I have had to adapt to the effects of being shot in the head and the resulting brain injury, which includes impaired vision and a loss of short-term memory.
Fortunately, I see things differently today. This experience has opened my eyes to all of those obstacles that consume us in our lives and careers. If I have learned anything, it's that we must look beyond those obstacles that get in our way and focus on what really matters. The people in your life are critical to your success, both personally and professionally. Each of us makes choices daily to be happy or sad, positive or negative. Choose wisely."
Pauline Boss, Ph.D., is a nationally-known lecturer and author of five books including Ambiguous Loss. Dr. Pauline Boss is an educator and researcher who is widely recognized for her groundbreaking research on what is now known as the theory of ambiguous loss. You can read a little more about Dr. Boss' research and theory: All losses are touched with ambiguity. Yet, those who suffer ambiguous loss, losses without finality or resolution, bear a particular and challenging burden. Whether it is the experience of caring for a loved one who has sustained a brain injury, or waiting to learn the fate of a spouse or family member who has disappeared in a disastrous event like 9/11 or Hurricane Katrina, the experience of loss is magnified and is more significantly challenging to overcome because the loss is linked to a lack of closure. People who experience and live with an ambiguous loss find it hard to understand their situation, difficult to cope and almost impossible to move ahead with their lives without professional counseling, love and support. George Prigatano, Ph.D., is a nationally known presenter, researcher and author of several books including Principles of Neuropsychological Rehabilitation, and Awareness of Deficit After Brain Injury:Clinical and Theoretical Issues. Dr. Prigatano has been on the leading edge of brain injury rehabilitation for over 30 years. He is on the Executive Committee for Neurorehabilitation at St. Joseph's Hospital and Medical Center in Phoenix, Arizona and is also on the Scientific Advisory Committee for Kessler Medical Rehabilitation, Research and Education Corporation (KMRREC). Christopher Elia, Ph.D. is the Founding Director and Staff Psychologist for Specialized Substance Use/Post Traumatic Stress Outpatient Program at the Fort Meade Veteran's Administration Medical Center. He will be presenting on Brain Injury and PTSD. James Gardiner, Ph.D., ABPN is a Neuropsychologist at the VA Outpatient Clinic and at Community Transitions in Rapid City. He also teaches veterans to improve mental skills. As a musician, he has developed musical treatments for neurological injuries, and for the past few years has researched the effects of music on improving the brain. He has been working with people with brain injury for over 20 years. He will be presenting on Music for the Mind and Building a Support System. Matthew Simmons, MD is a Neurologist at Black Hills Neurology. He will be presenting on Coma and Altered States of Consciousness. Ron Sasso, MS, NCC, LPC is the Director of Community Transitions, one of the country's oldest community re-entry programs for people with brain injury. Ron has been working with people with brain injury for over ten years with the goal of making each person independent. He will be presenting on Brain Injury and Homelessness. K. Alan Kelts, MD, Ph.D. is a Neurologist at Black Hills Neurology. He will be presenting on Brain Injury: The Evolution of Injury and the Healing Process. Mark Cook, Ph.D. is a Clinical Psychologist at Rapid City Regional Hospital and Regional Rehabilitation Institute. He will be presenting on Psychological Adjustment After Brain Injury. |
