fbpx

Resources

We have a variety of resources for survivors, family, and the public. Please share with your family, friends, and community.

These can be made available in print for you. Simply email info@braininjuryns.com or call the office at 902-422-5000.

We will continue to enhance this section with resources by category on a variety of brain injury topics. We carefully choose these resources for you as they are from trusted sources and evidence-based. Please scroll down to view all that we have available, or click the links below to jump to a specific section:

General Brain Injury


Nova Scotia ABI Services Directory

We are pleased to announce the launch of our new online, interactive ABI Services Directory! This directory focuses primarily on publicly-funded or free/subsidized programs and services available to brain injury survivors and families across the province. Click HERE to view the online directory.
If you would rather view or download the latest printed publication of the directory as a PDF, Click HERE for the full PDF directory.

Available for free on our website and in health facilities across the provinces. We are thrilled to provide this resource to our community to help navigate the continuum of services available to support life after ABI.

Pamphlets & more on to a variety of brain injury topics
Brain injury information, resources, and more 
News & information for survivors, families, and professionals

Concussion


View our Concussion Information and Resources page

Through a partnership with Concussion Nova Scotia, we are happy to provide access to up-to-date information and resources and concussions. View all of our excellent resources and information on our concussion information page.

Concussion Nova Scotia Logo
Nova Scotia Concussion Awareness

For Families and Caregivers


Supporting the Supporter Series

This six-session program was designed to assist family and caregivers in exploring your role, acknowledge how your life has changed, and provide you with strategies for managing challenges while connecting with others with similar experiences. The online series we offered consisted of two parts: Videos posted on our YouTube channel every Friday. Then, the following Thursday, an interactive Zoom session where you saw and heard our facilitator, Amy Sullivan, and had a discussion with the group on care giving and brain injury. While this series has completed, the videos are still available for you to watch, and learn for free!

Ontario Brain Injury Association

Our friends at Ontario Brain Injury Association have created an excellent, free website dedicated to Caregiving After Brain Injury with six education modules to help you navigate the challenges involved with supporting your loved one’s recovery journey with patience and understanding.

“Head Injuries Happen to Families”
Judith Falconer, Ph.D
“How acquired brain injury can affect the family”
The Children’s Trust, U.K.
“Family Change After Brain Injury”
BrainLine

In-person Supports


We offer a variety of programs, supports, and training sessions for survivors & family/caregivers
Peter's Place logo

Peter’s Place is a private provider with proven success in brain injury rehabilitation. They offer both Residential & Community Rehabilitation programs, as well as the Brain Injury Recovery Centre, which is the first purpose-built community space in NS for the brain injury community. We operate our Community Hub out of the same location (615 Windmill Road).

NS Health Acquired Brain Injury Team

Comprised of multiple services and interdisciplinary teams. The cornerstone of care is an organized, programmatic approach to interdisciplinary assessment, treatment, and education for survivors of brain injuries & their families.

Department of Health & Wellness Continuing Care Services

Continuing Care serves persons who need on-going care, either on a long-term or short-term basis. Including a range of home and community care and long-term care services.

Prevention


Tips to Avoid Injuries

  • Wear your seat belt.
    • Seat belts reduce serious injuries and deaths from crashes by about 50 percent.
  • Don’t drive under the influence of drugs or alcohol.
    • Alcohol and drugs, including prescription medications, can impair a person’s ability to drive. Alcohol-impaired drivers are involved in about one in three crash deaths.
  • Don’t text or use a cell phone while driving.
    • Cell phones are the number one source of driver distraction. The NHTSA reports that drivers who talk on cell phones or text while driving are four times as likely to get into a car crash serious enough to injure themselves.
  • Wear a helmet.
    • Adults and children should wear a helmet and protective gear when participating in any sports and recreational activities. Always wear a helmet when:
      • riding a bike, motorcycle, or skateboard
      • skiing, snowboarding, or using inline skates
      • playing a contact sport, such as football, ice hockey, or boxing
      • playing baseball or softball
  • Prevent falls at home.
    • Falls can be prevented in older adults by doing the following:
      • installing handrails in bathrooms and on both sides of a stairway
      • removing tripping hazards, such as throw rugs and clutter
      • improving lighting throughout your home
      • maintaining regular activity for older adults
      • using nonslip mats in the bathtub or shower floor
      • getting regular eye exams
  • Prevent head injuries in children.
    • Head injuries can be prevented in children by following these tips:
      • installing window guards to prevent falls out of open windows
      • using safety gates at the top and bottom of stairs
      • keeping stairs clear of clutter
      • using a nonslip mat in the bathtub or shower floor
      • using playgrounds with shock-absorbing materials on the ground
2v1 rule for fitting helmets
A Parent’s Guide to Helmet and Recreational Safety
Child Safety Link

Parachute Canada is Canada’s leader in injury prevention, focusing on three key areas where people are unintentionally injured: in the home, at play, and on the move. Educating and advocating for the prevention of serious injury in our homes, in sports and recreation and on our roads.

Inspiration


Member Spotlight – Read stories of brain injury survivors and their families in Nova Scotia

You’re not alone. Learn about others going through their recovery journey – hear their stories, solutions, challenges, and successes to provide hope and support to others who are having similar experiences.

Books written by members of Brain Injury NS:

Threading the Needles of Life
George Crocker

A candid and courageous account of the author’s personal journey that will inspire and encourage other brain injury survivors and their families and anyone who is threading their own needles. Copies available at our resource library at the Hub.

Lost and Found: Recovering Your Spirit After A Concussion
Elizabeth Pierce

Elizabeth is a best-selling author, NIA instructor, and concussion survivor. Copies are available at our resource at the Hub. “Concussion is an injury that can make us want to give up. And yet it is important that we do not give up on ourselves while we are healing.”

My Jelly Brain: How I Learned To Protect My Brain After A Car Accident
Mark Selvidge & M. Betty-Ann Buott

This is the story of Mark and his Brain. At the age of 10, Mark sustained a brain injury which left him with some significant physical impairments. In this story we see how Mark and his Brain recover and over come these injuries. We learn how to keep our brains safe, and we learn the importance of including and accepting others.

Our Music Therapy Group – Original Songs

In addition to enjoying the healing power of exploring music together, they have also written their own songs and performed live to a packed house at the Carleton in Halifax. These four original songs were recorded, mixed and mastered by John Murphy of Simple Productions, who is also a brain injury survivor. Celebrating resilience, recovery, and the support of family, friends, and community, this group inspires its members and everyone around them with their courage expressed through the joy of making music together.

Special thanks to Mackenzie Costrun-Li and Find Your Voice Music Therapy. Copies available now at The Hub, $10 each. All funds raised go toward supporting on-going music therapy programming. Learn more about our Music Therapy program >

Strategies of Hope – Documentary

Strategies of Hope is an innovative documentary collaboration between filmmaker Ariella Pahlke and patients, staff, and families at the Nova Scotia Rehabilitation Centre’s Acquired Brain Injury Program.

Using a variety of art forms, they explore the effects of a stroke or brain injury and share strategies for recovery.

Strategies of Hope is sponsored by the NS Rehab Centre’s Acquired Brain Injury Program, the QEII Foundation’s Rehabilitation Endowment Fund, the Artists-in-Residence within Dalhousie University Humanities-HEALS Program, the Robert Pope Foundation, and the Centre for Art Tapes.

RSS Latest Brain Injury News, from Brainline.org

  • Kinnear family among claimants in brain injury case May 2, 2024
    The family of the late Joe Kinnear and four Premier League-era players are among a number of claimants taking legal action against football’s governing bodies over brain injuries allegedly suffered during their careers.
    BBC
  • New study: Could MDMA-assisted therapy help military veterans with PTSD and alcohol use? May 1, 2024
    A team of Brown University researchers is launching a study to test the combined use of the drug MDMA and talk therapy as a treatment for post-traumatic stress disorder and alcohol use disorder in military veterans. The study is the first at Brown on MDMA-assisted therapy and the first anywhere to test the treatment’s effectiveness […]
    Brown University
  • Scottish wearable tech protects mountain bikers from concussion April 30, 2024
    Professional mountain bikers will be among the first to use a new, Scottish-developed device to monitor head impacts and their long term repercussions. Several of the world’s top riders will start the new season with the HIT device, which monitors the g-force of a head impact, attached to their helmets. The technology also measures the […]
    Prolific North
  • Home from war, veterans' trauma still ripples through families April 30, 2024
    A mother of four fought for her family after her husband, who'd served combat tours in Iraq and Afghanistan, came home with a traumatic brain injury and post-traumatic stress disorder.  Marine veteran Chuck Rotenberry's trauma from war impacted his family. The couple's oldest, Kristopher, tried to help his dad and shield his sisters. As his […]
    CBS News
  • Irish researchers discover possible underlying cause of ‘brain fog’ in Long Covid patients April 29, 2024
    Researchers from Trinity College Dublin have discovered leaky blood vessels, together with a hyperactive immune system may be the underlying cause of brain fog in people with long Covid. They suggest their discovery is important for the understanding of brain fog and cognitive decline – difficulty with thinking, memory or concentration – seen in some people with […]
    MSN