"Young Adult Programs Are Taking Off"

 

     With or without a traumatic brain injury (TBI), being a young adult is a difficult phase of life. There are so many changes happening and transitions occurring, it's easy to feel lost or to get overwhelmed. When you mix in a TBI on top of everything else in life, trying to stay afloat as a young adult can become much more difficult. Normal activities like going to school, developing a career and even socializing with your peers can become a struggle.

     When doing some research for this article, I looked at the ages of people who have sustained a TBI and I found that individuals between the ages of 15 and 35 years old account for over half of the countries traumatic brain injuries annually. I also learned about the different developmental stages our brain goes through. I didn't know that the brain doesn't enter final stage of development until around the time you turn 18, and it continues until your mid-twenties to late twenties.

     I asked Joe Richert II, who is the Director of Community Services, why the final stage of brain development is so important. He informed me that during this last stage, the areas of your brain in charge of executive functions (like organization and planning) go through a huge growth spurt. Joe explained to me that when "someone suffers a brain injury hitting these developmental milestones becomes very challenging to an individual, especially without the appropriate supports."

       After talking to Joe and Joyce Z., who is the manager of the Young Adult Program, I felt extremely lucky. I feel like they designed this program especially for me and all of the other young adults that attend therapies and work with daily. It is nice to be able to do activities and go on outings as a group with others my age, which right now the group is mostly guys. I like the idea of having the option and ability to go out on a Friday night, like everyone else my age, and do things with the guys. Things like shooting pool, bowling, playing fantasy football and going to a sporting event are a few of the activities we have done and are planning I am really excited about.

       Joyce started working in her new position this past June, and that’s when the Young Adults Program began. At the time of the program’s start, Special Tree had over 80 clients that fell into the young adult’s category (which is 18 – 30 years old). Since then, even more young adults have joined the program to get assistance with their education, to develop and learn work skills, and even just hang out with peers and hit the town. I like the new program because it’s nice to be able to spend some separate time with others my age, instead of hanging around the kids or spending all of my time with the “older crowd.”

       Besides for the outings and activities we pick, I also am learning job development skills while I am earning a pay check. I write this blog and keep people informed about a variety of things, both personal and about Special Tree. Some of the guys work in the community, working on different vocational skills. Some people work in the ceramics studio filling orders that are placed, some of the guys work in different departments over at our NeuroCare Center, and a bunch more. The cool thing is, they will even develop and create a job for each persons individual goals and skills – like mine!

       Soon we will organize and kick-off a food and clothing drive for a church in Detroit, I Am My Brother’s Keeper Ministries. This ministry was one of the inspirations and focuses of Mitch Albom’s, book Have a Little Faith. I haven’t read it yet, but I know who Mitch Albom is, and I am excited to help out people that need it since so many people help me out everyday.  As of now we are planning to kick off the food and clothing drive on November 1^st. I will make sure to remind everyone on my blog, so then you can help us give to those in need as well.



COLLEGE AFTER A TBI ( traumatic brain injury)    

    Four years ago I would have never seen myself in the position I’m in today. Back then my goal was to get a bachelors degree, now I’m just lucky to be able to return to college. Looking back to before my accident, things used to come natural to me. Afterwards, I have had to fight hard for what I wanted but in the end all of my hard work paid off.

     I always received good grades in high school and in college. I consistently got A’s and B’s during high school, and I was even placed in advanced classes in both Math and English. I spent minimum time on homework; it just seemed to come natural to me. Things didn’t really change after high school, my freshman year of college I took a full load of classes (12 credit hours) and worked about 30 hours a week. I even managed to make it on the deans list with my busy schedule, which I hope to do again.

     One night changed everything in my world as I knew it. I was in a serious car accident, which could have taken my life. I spent about 2 months in the hospital and then I was discharged to a variety of therapies at Special Tree, each focusing on different deficits so I could reach my personal goal of returning to college. My physical therapy team worked on my gross motor skill and strength, my occupational therapy team worked on my fine motor skills like my hand writing, and in therapeutic recreation we worked on skills I needed to be independent in the community.

      After three years of hard work my support group and I decided it was time to enroll for classes again. All my therapies have gotten me this far, but speech has helped me regain many skills needed to return to college. Some of those skills include increasing memory recall, communication, organization, and planning. Without these skills there is no way I would have been ready for this class.

     This past august (2011) I returned to college at Wayne County Community College for the fall semester. My tutor and I decided on me taking a pre-algebra class to get used to college again. The first day of class I was extremely nervous about returning to school in wheelchair, and interacting with my classmates. Since the first day my nerves have relaxed and I have found the class to be easy, I am planning on taking a winter class or two.

      Sometimes I get frustrated at all the hard work I have to put into things that used to come easy to me. With hard work and a great support system I accomplished one of my major goals of returning to college. In the future, I plan to achieve the same goals I had before my life changing event.                    
         

Day out at Kensington Metropark       

    
     The other Friday, about a dozen of us spent the day at Kensington Metropark which is located in Milford, Michigan. Since there are only a few weeks of summer left, I was definitely excited about getting outside to get some more fishing in before the water freezes over. We spent our day fishing, picnicking, and some people even took a leisurely cruise around Kent Lake. The weather that day was perfect to be outside and enjoying all of the activities and scenery the park had to offer.

     The first thing we tackled when we got to Kensington, was finding the perfect spot for our picnic so we could eat lunch. We eventually decided to take advantage of one of the park’s picnic pavilions. It offered great views of the river and the nature surrounding us. It was an ideal day to spend outside due to the perfect weather, there was not a cloud in the sky.

After lunch, it was time to cast our lines into the river and catch some fish. Even though a majority of the group fished, only a few people in the group actually hooked one. The Huron River is home to mainly five species: Bass, Blue Gill, Pike, Crappie, and Perch. Both of the fish we caught were Blue Gill. We used worms for bait this time, but we all decided that we have had better luck on other days when using either bread or hot dogs.

 Besides our picnic and fishing, we had the option to go for a boat ride or to continue trying to catch more fish. I chose to keep fishing, but those that went on the boat said it was very relaxing and a good way to see more of the park. The boat they went on was a 37 passenger pontoon boat called the Island Queen II. It offers the park’s visitors a chance to see all of the different islands and bays around Kent Lake, and gives the passengers some history and background of the park. One of my peers shared that the most exciting part of the boat ride for him, was seeing a group of turtles that were each larger than a soccer ball.  

     Everyone looked, and sounded, like they enjoyed themselves at the park. Lucky for us the weather was splendid, perfect for all of the activities we wanted to do. Whether you fished, went on the Island Queen II, or just took in the scenery; the outing had something for everyone.

Concerts

            I went to see 3 country concerts in the summer of 2011. Tim McGraw, Dierks Bentley, and Kenny Chesney are who I saw. I enjoyed them all.

        The first concert I went to was Tim McGraw. I saw him in Toledo Ohio. He put on a great show; in fact, the crowd liked him so much he played 3 encore songs. A lady from my church also went and she had great seats. She took some great pictures of him and gave me copies. My goal for those pictures is to hang them on a cork board. By looking at those pictures on my wall I will be reminded of the good times I had.

        The second concert I went to was Dierks Bentley. I saw him play at the Monroe County Fair. He put on an OK show but we chose to leave early. I ran into some of my friends that I haven’t seen in about 3 years and talking to them was more fun then listening to the concert. Many other people seemed to enjoy the concert, but talking to my friends was more important to me.

      The third concert I went to was Kenny Chesney. This was the last of the 3 concerts i saw this summer. I went to watch him play on August 20th at Ford Field. Kenny Chesney put on a great show and some people from DTS went to see him as well.  One thing that made my night even better was that someone gave me free floor seats. I was able to take great pictures of Kenny Chesney and the Zac Brown Band because of these great seats. 

     Being able to see all these concerts this summer made it a blast.  Being able to see my friends at these concerts also made it unforgettable. I’m lucky to have the opportunity to go to these concerts.

      Woodshop
    D.T.S. has a woodshop work service program that allows clients to work on furniture.  The clients work on the furniture that’s donated from various sources.  D.T.S. sells all the furniture that's donated and refinished and the money goes to the clients for their work.  They sand the pieces then strip the old paint off in order to refinish them with new stain or paint. The clients use different types of sandpaper and various stains to achieve a certain color that the clients may want for that piece of furniture.

Goodbye Jeff!

DTS said goodbye to Day Treatment Services Team Member Jeff last week. Jeff has been with Special Tree for 5 years and started out at the Discover! Summer program. Some of his previous roles in the company were Activities Aid, Resident Counselor and Client Advocate. Jeff was only 19 when he started at Special Tree, and now 25 years old, he is finally getting his dream job - A Border Patrol Agent! Jeff will be stationed down in Yuma, Arizona for the next 18 months training to protect the nation's borders. Jeff told us about his time at Special Tree - "Special Tree prepared me for what I'm about to do, it was a great job! I'm for sure going to miss everyone." Jeff mentioned that his favorite part of working for special tree was seeing clients better themselves after caring for them and making them happy. "That's what it's all about." He responded. Special Tree will miss you, Jeff and good luck with all of your future endeavors!

Bret's Car Accident

    

      My name is Bret. I was at a party, got drunk, and drove. I ended up getting in a car accident and got a brain injury because I was drunk. I’m writing this to hopefully prevent people from making the same mistake that I made.

           

            At the time of my accident I was underage. I was 20 years old with a fake ID to buy alcoholic beverages, because it was cool. Doing stuff that breaks the law isn’t cool, and I realize that now. Another thing that I did that was breaking the law was that I didn’t wear my seatbelt, because I thought that was cool.

            Before my accident I use to play outdoor sports a lot. I used to play baseball. I played baseball for my high school. I can’t play those sports right now, because at the moment, I’m in a wheelchair.

            Don’t drink and drive. Doing so, you could get in an accident like I did, or even worse, you could die. Being in this accident has changed my opinion big time and the laws are there to protect you.