Monday, June 30 and Tuesday, July 1, 2025 Lancaster Marriott at Penn Square
Theme: Celebrating an Empowered Brain Injury Community: A Conference for Survivors, Care Partners, and Professional
Call for Posters!
We are accepting poster submissions for BIAPA’s 2025 Annual Conference! This is a fantastic opportunity to showcase your innovative work and groundbreaking findings. Don’t miss your chance to connect with other professionals in the field of brain injury as well as survivors and care partners, during this two-day educational event! Extended Submission Deadline: Saturday, February 1, 2025 Click HERE for the poster proposal submission forms
Our mission is to prevent brain injuries and to foster an inclusive community of education, advocacy, support, and research to maximize the quality of life for those with brain injuries and their families. Partner with us for the conference or the year to support this mission and promote your business to our wide array of professionals, survivors and companies! Click HERE for more info and to download the sponsorship packet
Noah Sideman, Psy.D., Joins the BIAPA Board
Neuropsychologist Noah Sideman has joined the Brain Injury Association of Pennsylvania’s Board of Directors.Dr. Sideman has experience in both counseling and clinical research. He has a number of connections with BIAPA, including a one-year practicum with BrainSTEPS in Bucks County, as part of his doctoral studies at Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine. Reflecting on joining the BIAPA Board, he says, “I am deeply honored to serve on the board of an organization that has been such a guiding light, offering mentorship and education, in my career thus far.”
The holiday season can be challenging for people with brain injuries and their caregivers due to added stress and overstimulation. Some suggestions to minimize stress is to think about how to simplify things, focus on self-care, and set clear boundaries. It can be helpful to be open with loved ones about what you need and what you can handle during gatherings. A quiet space to retreat to when you need a break can make all the difference.Taking care of your physical and emotional health is most important during this time!
Here are 13 tips to help navigate this busy season, as excerpted from an article at brainline.com written by Linda A. Arms a brain injury survivor Click here to see the full article.
1. Pace yourself 2. Say "No" 3. Get organized in advance 4. Prioritize 5. Ask for Help 6. Keep things simple 7. Eat properly and drink water 8. Determine how to get where you have to go before you leave 9. Determine how much time you need to get there
10. Determine what you need to take with you & what you are going to wear 11. Determine, in advance, your way out or exit strategy 12. If you’re going to a new place for dinner, Study the menu on the internet before you go 13. Try to get a table in a quiet, less busy part of the restaurant
BIAPA Clinical Forum
BIAPA Clinical Forum Series presents: Formalizing a Disorders of Consciousness Program for Pediatric Patients in Inpatient Rehabilitation at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (A Webinar)
Tuesday, December 10, 2024 3:30 – 5:00pm Eastern Time
A presentation and discussion with: Jacqueline Conklin MS OTR/L, Emily Diliberto, MS, CCC-SLP, Emily K. DiVirgilio, PhD, Sarah A. Jones, PT, DPT, PCS
This session is intended for a professional audience and is free.
Questions can be directed to MJ Schmidt at schmidt@biapa.org. View the flyer HERE.
BIAPA Board Member Amanda Parezo Receives Governor's Keystone Award
Congratulations to BIAPA Board Member Amanda Parezo, who recently received a Pennsylvania Governor’s Keystone Award, which recognizes individuals for their significant contributions to their communities, which have helped to improve the lives of others!
The Award was presented to nine Pennsylvanians at Governor Josh Shapiro’s first State Dinner at the Governor’s Residence in Harrisburg. Reflecting on receiving this honor, Dr. Parezo said, “It feels so wonderful to be seen and listened to. I am so incredibly honored to be one of the nine awardees who were celebrated at this inaugural event!” Read the full article HERE
November is National Caregiver Month
BIAPA celebrates care partners this month, recognizing the vital role they play in supporting persons with brain injury! Did you know that...
BIAPA hosts a monthly Caregiver Support Group.
We have a resource page on our website dedicated to caregiver support and resources Visit the page HERE
Helmets for the Holidays: Give the Gift of Prevention
Your gift to Helmets for the Holidays will support BIAPA’s work to prevent brain injuries and to support individuals and families that have experienced brain injury.This includes:
Brain Safety Fairs with free bicycle helmet fittings
Education programs about the brain and the impact of brain injury
Brain Injury Resource Line, which offers information about resources that may be of help to people with brain injury or their family.
A Meaningful Holiday Gift If you’d like to make a gift in honor of a friend, family member or colleague, please note that information on our secure donation form, and we'll send our Helmets for the Holidays bicycling snowman card with a message about your gift to the person you've honored.
Business Gift Program If you’re a business and would like to make a gift in honor of clients or colleagues, please email us at admin@biapa.org or call 833-242-7248. We’ll make it easy for you to manage your holiday gift-giving and to support BIAPA. Send us a list of your honorees, and we’ll send our Helmets for the Holidays bicycling snowman card with a message that you’ve recognized them with a gift to BIAPA.
Best wishes for a safe and healthy holiday season!
BIAPA is once again partnering with Pittsburgh's renowned Sarris Candies to offer friends of BIAPA the opportunity to enjoy Sarris' legendary candy for the holidays and to benefit BIAPA!
Order candy through the BIAPA website, and Sarris will ship directly to you or another address for free, with a $7 packaging fee, and donate 25% of all sales to BIAPA!
ReDiscover U classes are held on Monday nights at 6 PM ET via Zoom. Use this link to join any of the classes at 6 PM on Mondays.
12/2/24 - Share Night
12/9/24 - Special guest Jessica from Love Your Brain
12/16/24- Arm Chair Travel: America’s Cup in Spain with Drew Nagele
For more information about ReDiscover U, including a description of the classes, CLICK HERE.
Support Group Corner
Pittsburgh Support Group Hosts a Special Art Night
The Lost and Found Support Group in Pittsburgh hosted a fun and therapeutic craft night in October. Looks like it was a fun event and we love seeing everyone's spooky creations! For more info on this Pittsburgh based support group, contact Amanda Burgy Allemang at acburgy@gmail.com.
If your support group is having a special event, we'd love to highlight it in the newsletter! Please send updates and pictures to walsh-farrell@biapa.org at any time.
The BIAPA statewide virtual support group will meet Thursday, December 19 at 5 PM. This tight-knit community consists of survivors, caregivers, family and professionals from across the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania! Please use thisZoom Link to access the meeting.
BIAPA's next Caregiver Support Group will be held on Wednesday December 11 6 PM. This monthly, virtual meeting is open to all caregivers. The meetings are an excellent opportunity for caregivers to meet one another, share experiences and discuss topics of unique relevance to their roles. No pre-registration is required! To join this monthly meeting, use this Zoom Link.
To sign up for email alerts for one of BIAPA's virtual groups listed above, follow this link to complete a brief registration form.
A full list of all of Pennsylvania's Brain Injury Support Groups, along with contact information for each, is on the BIAPA website's Support Group Listing Page. We are currently updating this information, and while we have done so for most groups, there are still some that we're trying to reach. If you're aware of groups that are meeting either virtually or in-person and are not on our listing, or if you have any updated details about a group on the list, please contact Melanie Morrison morrison@biapa.org so that we can let others know about them.
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