Brain Injury Family Caregiver

Brain Injury Family Caregiver
a Virtual Conversations® information system

Three Virtual Conversations® prototype programs were developed and evaluated under an SBIR Phase I grant from the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development of the National Institutes of Health (NIH). These interactive multimedia programs were designed to provide practical knowledge and emotional support for families who have recently experienced the brain injury of a loved one. A virtual dialogue with these experienced family caregivers simulates the peer support process. A proposal to expand and distribute these programs is currently being reviewed by an NIH scientific review committee.

RealVideo® Demo clip

RealPlayer is required to view
these clips. Go here to download
the free installation program.

Minimum Systems Requirements

100 MHz Pentium

16MB of RAM
(32MB recommended)

23MB hard drive space

4X CD-ROM drive

SVGA (800x600, 16 bit color)

Sound Blaster® compatible
sound card

Microphone (included)

Speakers

Mouse

Windows®95, 98, NT4, 2000

A brief description of the family caregivers in the prototype program follows.

The Stumms.gif (12443 bytes) Tom and Gloria Stumm’s son, Tom, was brain injured in an automobile accident in 1982, just before he was to graduate with a degree in engineering from the University of Virginia. After spending almost five years at various hospitals and rehabilitation facilities, Tom went home to live with his parents. He lived there for seven years, then moved into an apartment associated with a supervised program. He now works full time.

The Stumms are active members of the Northern Virginia Brain Injury Association (NVBIA), both serving in various offices over the years. Tom is a member of the Board of Trustees for the Head Injury Services Partnership, Inc. as well as for The Mid-Atlantic Traumatic Brain Injury Consortium. Gloria is a principal organizer of the NVBIA annual brain injury conference, "A Journey Toward Independence," and both Gloria and Tom volunteer as guest speakers around the Northern Virginia area, discussing their experience with brain injury and caregiving.

The Brookers.gif (14022 bytes) Jim and Joanne Brooker’s son, Matthew, was brain injured when he was a victim of a violent crime in 1984. He spent over five years in recovery at various hospitals, after which he moved home to live with his parents. Matthew is currently living at home, working almost full time, and still making strides in his recovery.

The Brookers have been very active in the brain injury community on both local and national levels for many years. Jim has served on the Virginia State Head Injury Foundation and was vice chair on the Local Disability Services Board. Joanne was involved in the development of the first NVBIA "Journey Toward Independence" Conference. Both Jim and Joanne have supported and served as officers for the Northern Virginia Brain Injury Association and Head Injury Services Partnership. They were active in lobbying Congress to pass legislation on behalf of the disabled.

Dr. Peter Patrick.gif (8889 bytes) Peter Patrick, Ph.D., is a neuropsychologist and former director of Learning Services/Mid-Atlantic Region, a brain-injury rehabilitation center located in Manassas, Virginia. He has been working with brain-injured patients and their families since 1982. Dr. Patrick is highly regarded in the field of brain-injury rehabilitation and has a personal interest in it as his daughter, Erin, has been living with a brain injury since childhood. Erin has far exceeded recovery expectations and has graduated from college. Dr. Patrick remains active in the rehabilitation community

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