Michael was a Special Educator in New York City for 26 years helping pioneer the use of digital video and computers by engaging hundreds of language-impaired students in tech activities promoting metacognition, communication and volition.
After retirement he worked to promote the use of technology with special education and to promote neurodiverse creativity n the Arts. He has presented at conferences in Orlando and Pensacola. He explains his work on Tech4Autism.com and his YouTube channel. www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL95EF449E1AF238C8
The goal of his current project, Neurodiverse City is to improve social outcomes for the disabled by helping school age children to develop empathy for the people behind the label.
Find more information on Michael and his work on Linkedin http://www.linkedin.com/in/mleventhal
You can also contact him through email Leventhal.Michael@gmail.com
In recognition of Brain Injury Awareness Month, we’ll be featuring several survivor’s who have become published authors about their journeys. We all have a story. If you doubt your ability to voice it by becoming an author, you may reconsider. For others looking for survivor stories and how they’ve learned to cope-You’ll have a wide variety to choose from here. Great show you can listen to an author or two at a time in archive if you missed live!
Deborah Schlag: AwakeningsCenterNC.com
Dr. Cheryle Sullivan: tbijourney.com
Michael Ciafone: meandmichael.org
Terry Smith: TerrySmithBooks.com
Tim Bransfield: alifeinterrupted.net
Amy Van Patten Ofenbeck: Amazon
Jeff Sebell: tbisurvivor.com (unable to come due to illness)
Gary Sinclair is a Cyberphysiologist and winner of Outstanding Transpersonal Contribution, in the field of Bridging Body, Mind & Spirit. In his personal life, he has overcome 50% lung capacity at birth to full, 14 years of MS with 80% mobility loss to healed, and recently 14 strokes with paralysis to no signs of a stroke in each case within 30 minutes. This is one interview YOU MUST HEAR and you know why! His latest book that cracks the code for healing titled ‘Healing Memories in Seconds.’ will be featured on PBS TV. Gary has personally taught over 3,000 people how to neutralize their worst memory every at PTSD level in 20 seconds with his latest work. Yup, WE ARE IN AWE of this new therapy work and you will be also.
See More at his Website: http://www.garysinclair.com
Dr Maria Romanas is back in the house! As a Dr of Pathology, and a Brain Injury Survivor .. Dr Maria blends scientific based knowledge, with the human challenges of being a survivor. The past year has been a whirlwind of change for her, and for people who function best with routine, transition can really rock our boat!
Maria’s professional and personal life were limited by a severe TBI suffered during a roll-over car accident in 1984. She doesn’t have an outwardly obvious disability, but cognitive impairments were compromising her quality of life.
In spring 2013, Dr Maria went through an 8-week program of intensive holistic cognitive rehabilitation (HCR) that trained her to become her own self-therapist. She learned exactly what was wrong with her brain and how to deliberately use her conscious mind to prevent her impairments from causing disabled functioning. She has be gracious enough to share those tools with us in the past. Now once again life on life’s terms, has her revisiting all tools she accumulated to maintain a stable life.
Kimberly Archie lead the safety crusade in youth sports and the push for cheer to be classified as a sport with science based research that set off a media blitz of injury stories in 2008 from People magazine to the Washington Post. Her tireless efforts and “never take no for an answer” resolve resulted in a Government Accountability Office investigation called by Congressional leaders into the youth sport safety crisis in America. She is an official research partner with the National Center for Catastrophic Sports Injury Research at the University of North Carolina, was a safety official for the National Collegiate Acrobatics & Tumbling Association, has testified numerous times at all levels of government on safety issues, organized numerous national safety events, pushed for stronger sport safety legislation on the national and state level, is a highly sought public speaker and independent source of sport safety information for news media, local government and sport parents. Her personal motivation is driven by the death of her son to CTE, and her daughters injury in Cheer.
Catherine Brubaker is a two-time brain injury survivor. She re-learned how to walk and talk twice and in 2014 she rode her recumbent cycle 5390 miles across the United States to take back her life. As she began telling her story, others began telling her theirs and she realized she was not alone. It was during that journey she realized that people did not see her disability and were unaware of the challenges brain injury survivors and their families face. She found her voice on her journey and has become an advocate for brain injury awareness. She shares her inspirational story of hope around the country speaker to help empower individuals with a powerful message of hope.Catherine founded hopefortrauma.org, an organization committed to advocating for a national conversation about brain injury and providing recumbent cycles and other adaptive equipment directly into the hands of brain injury survivors to that they may reclaim their freedom too.
A documentary will be released in early 2016 to share her story of hope, her journey through recovery and transformation from experiencing extreme trauma to creating Hope For Trauma.
Our Regular host Kevin is feeling under the weather tonight. Last minute fill in, so it’s YOUR night. Call in and share what’s on your mind and heart .. Or listen to some great Indie Music, and me pontificate!! Come on .. Keep me company as we kick off the weekend! 🙂
Dr. Steven DeKosky is the Aerts-Cosper Professor of Alzheimer’s Research at the University of Florida College of Medicine, and the Interim Executive Director of McKnight Brain Institute. He also serves as Associate Director of the 1Florida Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center at UF.
He moved to the University of Pittsburgh in1990 as Professor of Psychiatry (primary) and Neurology, and from 1992-2000 directed the Division of Geriatrics and Neuropsychiatry in the Department of Psychiatry/Western Psychiatric Institute and Clinic. In 2000 he became Chair of the Department of Neurology. In May of 2003, Dr Bennet Omalu featured in the movie Concussion, paid a visit to Dr DeKowsky who was preeminent in the field of Neurodegenerative Diseases. He knew brains! In the movie he was referred to as “The Great DeKowsky” played by Eddie Marsan.
His basic research centers on structural and neurochemical changes in human brain in aging and dementia, effects of traumatic brain injury (TBI), his clinical work on the genetics, neuropsychiatric symptoms, neuroimaging, and treatment and prevention of AD.
Dr. DeKosky served on the Board of Directors of the Alzheimer’s Association where he chaired their Medical and Scientific Advisory Council. He has received a number of awards for his contributions to AD research and advocacy, and has been listed continuously in “The Best Doctors in America” and “America’s Top Doctors” for over a decade.He has published over 400 peer-reviewed articles and book chapters and serves on the editorial boards of several leading neurology and Alzheimer’s journals and is a reviewer for multiple other journals.
See Dr DeKowsky’s complete Bio at http://inaflash.org/bio.htm
My guest tonight is Timothy Guetling, who suffered his brain injury in 1972. Timothy is SSGI retired 2013. The recurring repercussions caught him off guard, but he was able to work, paying income/payroll taxes for 40 years. Little was known about brain injury back then, and repeated TBI’s altered his ability to perform as he once did. Now he is on several TBI,PTSD, BI/Disabled Groups offering his assistance to others, from his vast experience. Those experiencing what he has can also practice daily “recovery evolution.” We’ll talk about changes in how brain injuries were handled then and now on many levels … Support, Family, Physicians, Education.
Darlene Krause was born with her first aneurysm. The second came as a result of a TBI on 7/7/12. She has had several strokes, seizures, and balance issues. Her journey has been a long one, but even more so in the last few challenging years. Her life, the life of her family and friends, has all been effected, and she continues to find her way.
Karen Newell is an innovator in the emerging field of brainwave entrainment audio meditation, Karen empowers others in their own journeys of discovery. Along with Dr Eben Alexander, they healing in new ways!
Meditation & heart awareness were central elements to her many different subjects of study. But Karen found it extremely challenging to sit still with focused attention for any length of time. She discovered that the most effective aid for meditation was monotonous sound — not music and singing melodies, but the simple tones produced by crystal bowls, tuning forks, gongs, chimes and human chanting.
When it came to modern methods Karen found that the regular practice of listening to recordings containing binaural beats minimized distracting thoughts and restlessness, allowing her to finally reach the expanded states of awareness she sought. Karen joined with Kevin Kossi to create original recordings unmatched by any others either had experienced. Together they created Sacred Acoustics. sacredacoustics.com
