TBI Project Information

[ Introduction ]   [ Services ]   [ History ]   [ Funding ]   [ Contact Us ]

Introduction

Each year approximately 1 out of 500 school-aged children receive brain injuries severe enough to be hospitalized. These children and youth sustain brain injuries from a variety of causes, including motor vehicle accidents, falls, bicycle accidents, abuse, sports injuries, and assault.  In addition, a number of children also incur acquired brain injuries such as strokes, brain tumors, encephalitis, and meningitis. With advances in medical technology more children are surviving what, at one time, would have been fatal injuries and diseases. As a result, increasing numbers of children and youth who have suffered ABI/TBI injuries are now entering the school system. These students pose a unique challenge to educators because of the variety of long-term cognitive, behavioral, and physical disorders they may exhibit.

A lack of awareness and understanding of the unique characteristics and the educational needs of this population often prevent students with ABI/TBI from receiving an appropriate education. If students with ABI/TBI are to receive an appropriate education, a system must be in place to ensure that educational personnel serving these students are trained in the area of ABI/TBI and have expert resource personnel available to provide technical assistance on the wide variety of individual cases. The Kansas State Department of Education Student Support Services addresses these training needs through the services provided by the Traumatic Brain Injury Project (TBI Project). 

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Services

Educators serving Kansas students with ABI/TBI can request the services and resources listed below free of charge. Contact project director, Janet Tyler, Ph.D. , for more information.

Coordination of Services

TBI Project personnel are available to provide inservice training, technical assistance, and consultation to educators, related service personnel, medical personnel, and families of students with ABI/TBI upon request.  In addition to project staff, over 250 trained TBI Miniteam members are available to help Kansas educators and parents coordinate services for students with ABI/TBI. The TBI Project provides continued training opportunities for established miniteam members representing different special education cooperatives and school districts across the state.

Educational Materials

The TBI Project serves as a resource center for disseminating information to school personnel and parents throughout the state of Kansas.  Teachers and parents can obtain information on such topics as: educational programming, academic strategies, behavioral modifications, memory difficulties, IEP development, transition planning, and injury prevention.  Community and agency resource listings are also available as well as a limited number of written and videotaped materials that are available both statewide and nationally.

Presentations

Professional inservice presentations on the effects of ABI/TBI and the need for educational modifications and specialized programming are also available upon request.  Topics include: memory impairment, behavior strategies, agency resources, and school re-entry.

 Prevention 

TBI Project advocates ABI/TBI prevention education and partners with the Brain Injury Association of Kansas & Greater Kansas City in promoting the Schoolsite Injury Prevention Program - a program dedicated to educating elementary, middle and high school students about the importance of safety belt and helmet usage.  Project personnel are also actively involved in awareness training regarding the assessment, prevention, and long-term effects of sports concussion.

Resources/Referral

AccessKansas, the official website of the state of Kansas, offers excellent information on community issues and disability concerns.   The Office of Injury and Disability Programs of the Kansas Department of Health and Environment features fact sheets on injury awareness and prevention for children as part of the Kansas SAFE KIDS campaign.  

Resource guidebooks for specific services in Kansas City, Wichita, Topeka, Southwest Kansas and Northwest Kansas are available online from the Brain Injury Association of Kansas & Greater Kansas City at www.braininjuryresource.org.  Call 1-800-783-1356 with questions or to request a printed copy.

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History

Since 1987, the Kansas State Department of Education's TBI Project has provided inservice training to educational and related services personnel serving students with ABI/TBI, pre-service training to undergraduate and graduate students in education courses at universities throughout the state of Kansas, and provided technical assistance and consultation to educators and parents of students with ABI/TBI. 

In 1991, a four-year grant, through the United States Office of Special Education, provided for the establishment of 19 TBI miniteams throughout the state of Kansas. Miniteam members often include school psychologists, occupational therapists, speech/language pathologists, and special education educators.  The 200 members of these miniteams received intensive training in ABI/TBI and are prepared to provide ABI/TBI inservice training and technical assistance and consultation to school personnel serving students in their geographical area with ABI/TBI.  As needed, the TBI Project has trained new miniteam members.

In addition, the TBI Project has developed many resources for the ABI/TBI miniteams throughout the state of Kansas. The project continues to update, identify, and research educational, vocational, and community resources for students with ABI/TBI. The development and delivery of effective resources, presentations, and written materials to educators and parents of students with ABI/TBI continues to be a goal of the project.

The development of ABI/TBI miniteams across the state of Kansas has helped ensure that Kansas students receive appropriate educational services. The project's commitment to the development and delivery of effective resources to Kansas students with ABI/TBI has been an essential ingredient in the success of the miniteam model. Because of this, the Kansas State Department of Education Student Support Services, which funds the Traumatic Brain Injury Project, has expanded the project to include students with various types of neurologic disabilities. The TBI Project is now a part of the Neurologic Disabilities Support Project (NDSP) and continues to use the delivery models it developed to help students with a wide range of neurologic disabilities.

The Kansas Department of Education is dedicated to the goal of providing appropriate educational instruction and services for all students in the state of Kansas. Its funding and expansion of the TBI Project reflects its continued commitment to providing direct services to students with neurologic disabilities. 

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Funding

The Traumatic Brain Injury Project is funded by the Kansas Department of Education Student Support Services. These grant funds are administered by the Northeast Kansas Educational Service Center. The project is housed at the Developmental Disabilities Center (DDC) of University of Kansas Medical Center.  

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Contact Us

For technical assistance contact Janet Tyler, Ph.D. at:

Traumatic Brain Injury Project
Mail Stop 3055
University of Kansas Medical Center
Developmental Disabilities Center (DDC)
3901 Rainbow Blvd.
Kansas City, KS 66160
Email: jtyler@kumc.edu
Phone: (913) 588-5943
FAX:  (913) 588-5942

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