One of the main practice areas that interests me is brain
injury, specifically Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI). I have to see the irony in this as earlier in
the year I suffered a fairly decent concussion that resulted in my missing a
number of assessments and eventually my second year placement. The experience has been enlightening but not
one I would like to repeat again anytime in the near future. In this posting I am going to provide an
overview of three online communities I have come across intended for people who
have suffered a TBI, or have a family member that has experienced such an
injury. Generally these sites are based
around the individual and their family members being able to share their experiences,
ask questions, and provide support and a forum for discussion via the internet. Online communities are one example of an
environment which has been adapted to enhance the enrichment of other areas of
a person’s life (Townsend & Polatajko, 2007).
Occupational transition is seen as changes in engagement as
a result of the changes in daily life (Christiansen & Townsend, 2010). It also is apparent in the way some
individuals who were initially the information gathers about their injury have
now become the information providers for some of those seeking information in
their community (Christiansen & Townsend, 2010). This is evident in the way these communities have
emerged to fulfil a need to adapt to the transitions individuals need to make
in their day to day lives post injury as well as gain information about how
others have coped with what changes have occurred.
Occupational identity is an individual’s perception of
themselves in relation to their participation in different occupational roles (Christiansen
& Townsend, 2010). All of these communities
provide their members with a form of occupational identity by giving them the
opportunity to engage with each other, share concerns, information, experiences
and attitudes relating to their previous and current occupations. The sites provide a way for individuals to
cope with changes in occupational identity as a result of their TBI, such as
inability to work or changes in life roles.
A general limitation of the three sites found is that they
are all based in the United States of America; if a person from outside the
U.S. went onto one of these communities seeking information it may not suit
their context.
The intended purpose of this site is to provide support and
information for individuals and families who are experiencing some form of traumatic
brain injury. The site is somewhat interactive
with a number of different available to users including features on how to
identify concussion, articles written by TBI survivors detailing their experiences,
ask experts questions, and an area for blog postings. The community also has separate areas for
different types of visitors (people with TBI, family and friends, and
professionals). People choose to
communicate with this community as they are able to stay informed and up to
date with the latest research and share and receive support from others who are
experiencing similar circumstances to them.
The intended purpose of this site is to provide a forum for
individuals and families who have incurred some form of traumatic brain injury to
share their experiences and seek advice from other members. The site is very interactive, encouraging
members to communicate and connect with other community members. The community
provides a number of discussion groups, blog pages as well as a live online
chat room where members can interact with each other. In order to contribute you need to become a
registered member, so that the site can be monitored. It also provides members with a private ‘members
only’ area, only accessible when you sign up to the site. Those who aren't members are unable to see
what has been posted in some sections, taking into consideration the ethical
issues related to contributing to online communities.
The intended purpose of this site is to provide support for
individuals and families who are experiencing some form of brain injury, not
necessarily traumatic. Individuals are
able to remain anonymous when posting on the page if they choose or create an in
depth online member profile and participate in further in the forum. Community members are also encouraged to
start their own groups for others to join, share experiences/struggles and participate
in discussion within that community. Features
of the site include common treatment methods and how community members have
responded to these, as well as what challenges they have faced during their
recovery process. This site offers the
ability to ask professionals questions anything about TBIs from the injury
process, to treatment, and anything in between.
References:
Christiansen, C.H., & Townsend, E.A. (2010). Introduction to occupation: The art and
science of living (2nd ed.). New
Jersey: Pearson.
Townsend, E.A., & Polatajko, H, J. (2007). Enabling occupation II: Advancing an
occupational therapy vision for health,
wellbeing and justice through occupation. Ottawa, ON: Canadian Association of Occupational
Therapists.
