The PA BrainSTEPS Program overview - updated for 2013! Brain Injury School Re-Entry Consulting Program that covers the state of PA, is funded by the PA Dept of Health and the PA Dept of Education, and implemented via the Brain Injury Association of PA since 2007. We have 30 consulting teams consisting of 320 active brain injury consultants from the educational, medical, and rehabilitation realms. It is a nationally recognized program for school consultation and training following student acquired brain injuries. For more information contact eaganbrown@biapa.org or go to our website www.brainsteps.net Brenda Eagan Brown, MSED, CBIS BrainSTEPS Program Coordinator

1. BrainSTEPS:
Assists students, schools & families in
Pennsylvania following
acquired brain injury

2. Brenda Eagan Brown, M.S.Ed., CBIS
BrainSTEPS Program Coordinator
Email: eaganbrown@biapa.org
Phone: 724-944-6542
Website: www.brainsteps.net

3. How Common is TBI in Children in
Pennsylvania?
Each year, approximately
26,000
children in Pennsylvania sustain a
traumatic brain injury
(mild, moderate, or severe)
Source: The Brain Injury Association of Pennsylvania, 2008

4. In 2006
4,000
children & adolescents in
Pennsylvania were
HOSPITALIZED with
TBI
Source: The Pennsylvania Department of Health, 2006
DOES NOT INCLUDE EMERGENCY ROOM VISITS.

5. Pennsylvania Students Receiving
Special Education Services as TBI:
705
2010-11 school year

6. The return to school can be devastating
if the health care facility (hospital or
rehabilitation center) and the child's
home school do not interact as soon as
possible and as frequently as possible
Carter and Savage, 1988;
Ylvisaker et al., 1991;
Begali, 1992;
Mira et al.,1992;
Lash, 1992
Retrieved Jan. 21, 2013 from
http://www.tbi.org/library/html/children_and_adolescents.html

7. The BrainSTEPS Program
Funded by:
PA Department of Health
PA Department of Education
Implemented by:
Brain Injury Association of Pennsylvania since 2007

8. The BrainSTEPS Program
Brain injury consulting teams available to families and
schools throughout Pennsylvania.
Teams consult with & train local school staff to
develop educational programs specific to individual
student needs.

9. BrainSTEPS Assists Students with
All Acquired Brain Injuries
Traumatic Brain Injury
(includes Concussions)
Non-Traumatic Brain Injury
* Any child who has a brain injury that occurs AFTER the birth process can
be referred to BrainSTEPS

10. BrainSTEPS Teams
30 BrainSTEPS teams cover PA
27 are based out of the educational
Intermediate Units & 3 larger districts
320 active, trained BrainSTEPS team members
Educational professionals
Medical professionals
Rehabilitation professionals
Staff from community facilities
Staff from government agencies
University faculty
Family members

11. Special
Ed.
Supervisor
TAC 504
Consultant Coordinator
Social OT
Worker Therapist
BrainSTEPS
Guidance Teams PT
Counselor Therapist
School
Family Psych/
Neuro-
Member
psych.
Speech School
Therapist Nurse

12. BrainSTEPS
PA Hospital & Rehab Team Members
Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia The Children’s Institute of
Pittsburgh
Lehigh Valley Hospital Acadia Rehabilitation, Inc.
St. Christopher’s Hospital for Nemours/A.I. duPont Hospital
Children for Children
Hershey Medical Center Mainline Rehabilitation
ReMED Magee Rehab Hospital
Geisinger Medical Center Schuylkill Rehabilitation
Good Shepherd Rehabilitation Reading Hospital
St. Vincent’s Medical Center The Barber Institute
Beechwood Rehabilitation
Services

13. BrainSTEPS Team Leaders
 1-2 Team Leaders per team
 Organize monthly team meetings
 Ensure student referrals are assigned & follow up is
provided
 Conference call together once a month for 1 hour
with the Program Coordinator for program updates
 Meet with the Program Coordinator for Team
Leader Regional day long workshops 2x/year
 They are the “glue”

14. What BrainSTEPS Teams Do:
1. Prepare the student for return to school
2. Communicate with the district & medical, & rehab
professionals
3. Gather medical, rehab, & educational
reports/evaluations to assist in making educational
recommendations
4. Conduct student observations

15. What BrainSTEPS Teams Do:
5. Provide peer, parent and school training
Individual to student needs for school teams
General for district wide in-service trainings
6. Consult on all aspects of the student’s educational
plan & make recommendations to the district team
7. Assist in transitioning a student from grade to grade
or school to school by training new teachers

16. What BrainSTEPS Teams Do:
8. Serve as a consistent point of contact for students
9. Offer families support, education and connections
to community resources
BrainSTEPS Student Care Binders
10. Continually update their brain injury expertise by
attending mandatory BrainSTEPS trainings,
obtaining CBIS certification, and participate in other
brain injury training opportunities

17. 11. It is a goal of the BrainSTEPS Teams to
monitor all referred students annually
until graduation.

18. BrainSTEPS Database

19. BrainSTEPS Frontloads Supports
Short Term Impact = Long Term Impact
BrainSTEPS works to ensure that students who
would have otherwise immediately been placed in
special education upon returning to school after a
brain injury are receiving appropriate supports while
the brain is healing, before school teams make long
term placement decisions

20. Brain Injury Screening
BrainSTEPS teaches educators and related
professionals to ask PROBING questions
about prior brain injuries so the
appropriate supports can be put
in place.

21. Post Secondary Team
BrainSTEPS worked with the University of
Pittsburgh to establish the 1st Brain Injury
Committee in May 2012
– housed in the Disability Support Services office

22. December 2008,
BrainSTEPS received an
Award of Excellence for
Programs & Services
from the national
Brain Injury Association
of America

23. BrainSTEPS Concussion Support
Statewide Return to School & Academics
Concussion Management Team (CMT) Project

24. Concussions in Pennsylvania:
Annually, approx. 22,000
children ages 0-21 years
sustain concussions.

25. For students who linger, striking
a balance
between the need for rest and
keeping up with academic
content is the biggest
struggle.

26. Available at:
www.brainsteps.net

27. Available at:
www.brainsteps.net

28. Return to School Concussion Management
Team Project (CMT) 2013
360 CMTs formed & trained by BrainSTEPS
across the state of PA - Jan. 15, 2013 (40+ on wait list currently)
CMTs consist of 2 monitors
Academic Monitor (School Psych, Guidance Counselor)
Symptom Monitor (School Nurse)
CMTs follow BrainSTEPS Return to School Concussion
Protocol

29. Layered Statewide Infrastructure for
Concussion Return to School
Concussion CMT Monitoring BrainSTEPS
Intervention– 4 wks
occurs 1-4 wks @ School level @ IU level
1st 2nd
layer layer

30. CMT Project
BrainSTEPS provided PA schools with:
1. A structure
Concussion School Re-Entry Protocol
2. Information & guidelines
CMT Training
3. Methods for gathering data
CMT Monitoring Tools

31. Who can be referred
to BrainSTEPS?

32. Who can be referred to
BrainSTEPS?
A student who:
1. Has an acquired brain injury
• At any point in the student’s life
2. Is having difficulty at school as a result of the
acquired brain injury
• Concussions – referrals taken at 4wks. Post, unless there are “concussion
modifiers” present
• All other brain injury severities – referrals taken at any point in time. The
sooner the better

33. BrainSTEPS Website
www.brainsteps.net

34. Available at:
www.brainsteps.net

35. Available at:
www.brainsteps.net

36. Contact:
Brenda Eagan Brown, M.S.Ed., CBIS
BrainSTEPS Program Coordinator
Phone: 724-944-6542
Email: eaganbrown@biapa.org
www.brainsteps.net