Dr. Osborn will be on sabbatical leave beginning November 1, 2007, and will not be lecturing or consulting for a period of time.  Her return date is not known at this time.  

LECTURES
Dr. Osborn lectures throughout the United States and Canada and abroad on brain-injury rehabilitation and related issues. The three lectures described below are representative of those presented recently. All lectures qualify for professional continuing education credits. For more information or to schedule a lecture, please contact Jeanne Findlater at (239) 514-1133, or send an email to peripub@yahoo.com.

1. Brain Injury from the Inside Looking Out
(General Audiences: survivors, families, therapists, rehabilitation professionals, physicians and educators)

Traumatic brain injury and holistic rehabilitation is discussed from the perspective of the doctor-as-patient. It is a story of the progression from disorientation, memory loss, and language and behavioral changes through rehabilitation and the establishment of a new and rewarding identity. The journey is often funny and can supply lessons to persons other than those affected by brain injury.

Coming to terms with grief and a shattered sense of self and building a new life based on a genuine acceptance of this new person is one theme. Another is the ongoing nature of rehabilitation, the need to identify achievable goals and to strive for intellectual and emotional growth.

2. Strategies and Dreams: Building a New Life After Brain Injury (Rehabilitation professionals, survivors, caregivers, and others working in the TBI field)

Successful rehabilitation of traumatic brain injury must go beyond the teaching of compensatory techniques and strategies. While the development of the greatest possible independence for the survivor is essential, the ultimate goal of rehabilitation is to create also an environment and structure that will enable the individual to identify and build a full and satisfying new life. These goals depend upon certain key ingredients, principally a strong and wide support system, the strengthening of self-image, resolve and motivation, the coming to terms with the new person so that he or she may see what is possible and look forward rather than backward to what might-have-been.

.3. Traumatic Brain Injury: The Invisible Thief
(For physicians, especially those in primary care)

With over a third of a million traumatic brain injuries occurring annually, it is likely that doctors in specialties other than neurology will see patients with undiagnosed closed-head-injuries. Physicians in non-neurological specialties should know that many traumatic brain injured individuals have been undiagnosed as such or have failed to understand its significance. Although their problems may stem from a traumatic brain injury, their complaints may include a variety of symptoms that mask the underlying neurological injury. Diagnosis can be overlooked in patients who did not experience a coma or whose life-style or age ostensibly explain their dysfunction.

The benefits and elements of a rehabilitation program and the needs of traumatic brain injury patients and families are discussed along with the possible impediments to a patient's successful rehabilitation. Discussed also is the importance of medical groups and hospitals establishing a written policy regarding the return of a disabled physician to practice.

Please check the Calendar to learn where Dr. Osborn is scheduled to speak this year, and to see a list of earlier presentations.