Power Point version of Prezi presented by Val Lougheed at the Living with a Disability Conference in Vancouver on February 288th, 2013

1. Living with a Disablity
Trauma, Rehabilitation
and Recovery –
~ Keep Your Fork ~
Val Lougheed
Northern Lights Canada
Real Work * Real People * Real Results
1-800-361-4642 * www.northernlightscanada.ca * vlougheed@northernlightscanada.ca

2. “You don’t want your
impairments to define
you – you want them
to inform you.”
(Hanita Dagan, personal communication, 2005)

3. www.slideshare.net/vlougheed
#NLCAN
www.northernlightscanada.ca/about/about-val-
lougheed/be-still

4. Agenda
• Beginning …
• Middle …
• End …

5. Living with a Disability
1. What does it mean to recover?
2. What can I do to recover and
return to a life that includes
work?
3. What can we do to facilitate
recovery and a return to work?

6. Rated PG-113
People Strongly Cautioned!
May contain bad language, brief nudity,
sexual overtones, and drug usage.

7. Beginning
1978

10. VIDEO CLIP
Val being
interviewed in
Minden

12. Sept. 9, 2003 - morning

13. Sept. 9 – p.m.

14. Sept. 15 2003 – Jan. 19 2004
Journey Back to Life

19. Starting Point
February 2004 – Present

21. March 2004
The
Re-organization
of Self

22. “In the aftermath of traumatic
life events … [the] sense of self
has been shattered.”
(Herman, 1992, p. 61)
“An existential crisis …”
(Hanita Dagan, personal communication, 2005)

23. Sliding Down the Slope

24. Sliding Down the Slope

26. A Foothold
1st Neuropsychological Assessment
June 2004 -- Results
• Mild – moderate ABI
• Depressed (dysphoria)
• Working memory problems
• Hiding pain

27. Losing My Grip
My IWRP
August 2004

30. Rescued in the Valley of
Despair
Head Injury Program
Oct. – Dec. 2004

31. Scaling the Canyon

32. Sliding Back Down
Into The Abyss
2nd Neuropsychological Assessment
May 2005 -- Edmonton
• Non-compliance
• Malingering
• Trying too hard
• Not trying hard enough

34. Test Results
• Mild to Moderate ABI
• Pain?
• Depression?
• Motivation?
• “a high flyer”
• “phobic avoidance”
• Future plans – “live off dividends”
[from company]

35. Lesson
ASSUMPTIONS
REVEAL BIAS

36. 3rd Neuropsychological Assessment
August 2005 -- Calgary
• Mild – moderate ABI
• Good prognosis
• Post-Traumatic amnesia
• Pain?
• Depression?
• “Adjustment Disorder with
Anxiety and Depressed Mood”

37. Pain, Trauma, Depression, ABI
Symptom Overlap
(co-morbidity)
(Michael Sullivan, Centre for Research on Pain and
Disability, McGill University, September, 2006)

39. Oct. 3 – Dec. 11

41. Pain Research
Patrick Wall (physiologist)
Ronald Melzack (psychologist)

46. Rehab & Recovery
“In every encounter, basic trust is in
question.” ( Herman, 1992, p. 92)
“Survivors feel unsafe in their bodies –
and in any relationship with other
people.” (Herman, 1992, p. 160)

48. Trauma
Personal Experience
• Dissociation & Cocoon = Safety
• System on High Alert Always = Survival
• World is black & white = Trust
Trust (Safety) = Love
No Trust (Life Threatening) = Hate

49. Trauma
Personal Experience
I trust (love, feel safe with, will
try hard for) people who:
• Listen to me
• Understand me
• Respect me
• Are competent

52. ABI
Affects more than IQ ….
Touches core … of a
person’s self-esteem
(Prigatano, 1999; p. 58)

53. ABI
Back to Wilder Penfield – 1950’s
Localizationist

54. VIDEO CLIP Story of Paul
Bach-y-Rita’s dad
Paul Bach-y-rita
Neuroplasticity Video Clip;
link to Neuroplasticity –
YouTube; bren49764
00 – 2:20

55. Neuroplasticity - 1969
Paul Bach-y-Rita – 1934 – 2006
Scientist and Rehab Doctor

56. METHODS OF
HELPING

57. Body-Mind Connection
“The words and attitudes of
others … are potent. They help
or hex healing and recovery.”
“ Expectations are powerful.”
(Bolen, 1996; p. 94)

58. VIDEO CLIP
Esther
Sternberg
Dr. Esther Sternberg Demo Reel
– YouTube;
00 -- .36

59. Cortisol and Immune Cells
Sternberg, 2001; p. 112

61. Scaling the Canyon

62. Waskesiu
Sept., 2005

67. Breast Cancer
Reconstructive Surgery
March 2006

68. Convocation M.Ed. -- June 2006

69. Back in “a” Saddle
September 2007
• Officially change role/
title
• Re-organize NL
• Work part-time

71. Living with a Disability
Resilience
Ability to return to original form after being
bent (bounce back)
 Thriving in constant change, ability to be:
• Flexible
• Creative
• Adaptable
• Learn from experience
http://www.resiliencycenter.com/articles/5levels.shtml

72. Living with a Disability
Rehabilitation (habiter – to live inside)
“Rehabilitation is the learning to live
inside not only one’s body, however it
is after an injury or illness, but inside
one’s very being.”
(Kabat-Zinn, in Meili, 2003; p. 241)

73. Living with a Disability
Recovery
Curing Focus on the illness/
impairment [outside]
Healing Focus on the person [inside]
Crombez, October; 2003

74. Be Still

75. Living with a Disability
1. What does it mean to recover?
2. What can I do to recover and
return to a life that includes
work?
3. What can we do to facilitate
recovery and a return to work?

76. Keep Your Fork

77. Northern Lights Canada is a person-centred
organization committed to providing innovative,
responsive links to real work.
We offer 4 major divisions of service:
• Vocational Rehabilitation Services
• Employment Services
• Employer Services
• Corporate Training
For more information, please contact us:
1-800-361-4642
www.northernlightscanada.ca

78. Voc Rehab Canada (VRCAN) is a national consortium of experienced
regional vocational rehabilitation companies. VRCAN provides customers
with single-point access to VR services anywhere they are needed in
Canada, whether on an individual service or contract basis.
Member companies include:
Argus Management Consultants, Inc. Sandra Preeper & Associates
Advantage Rehabilitation Consultants Rehabilitation Alternatives Limited /
Ltd. Vocational Alternatives Software
OPTIMA Rehabilitation CVE Inc.
Northern Lights Canada Occupational Rehabilitation Group of
Canada (ORGOC)
Western Rehabilitation Specialists Inc. Diversified Rehabilitation Group
Genesis Rehabilitation Ltd. Rehabilitation Focus
For more information, please feel free to contact us at 1-800-361-4642