By Robert Dolgan
Special to Inside
On Feb. 18, 2002, Dwight Anderson's life was changed forever when he was injured in a motor vehicle accident resulting in a brain injury. Through his perseverance and the assistance of Anixter Center's New Focus Program, Anderson was back at his job in telecommunications technology just 14 months after his injury.
"We have had program participants with neuropsychological evaluations that suggest they won't work again," says New Focus Manager Sarah Nicolson. "But now they are thriving in work settings."
Established in 1991, New Focus is a community re-integration program that provides comprehensive rehabilitation services to adults with brain injuries. New Focus, located at 2032 N. Clybourn Ave., is one of 70 programs at Anixter Center, which assists people with disabilities in the Chicago area to live and work successfully in the community.
Anderson spent three months at the Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago (RIC) for inpatient therapy before being referred to New Focus. There he began working diligently toward his goals of "getting the left side of his body stronger and improving his cognitive skills."
Anderson did this and more during his time in New Focus. Through an interdisciplinary approach, brain-injured survivors receive services including vocational planning, community outings, psychotherapy, life skills, compensatory memory strategies and speech, movement and occupational therapy.
According to the National Brain Injury Association, 1.5 million Americans will sustain a brain injury—a car crash, a fall, a stroke or a tumor—this year. The number of brain injuries dwarfs the number of annual diagnoses of breast cancer (175,000) and HIV/AIDS (50,000). A 1994 study conducted in New York City found that 87 percent of brain-injured survivors were discharged from hospitals directly to home. New Focus is one of the only state-funded private nonprofit organizations serving brain-injury survivors in the Chicago area. Often individuals and families don't know where to turn after these life-altering injuries.
"Brain injuries are a silent epidemic," Nicolson says.
Powerful stories abound among the current program participants at New Focus. Cathia Scardullo was injured driving a truck at work. Lafayette Parker had a stroke. Marty O'Malley fell down the stairs.
"We try to individualize our services as much as possible," Nicolson says. "Every brain injury is different."
The program is funded through a vocational grant from the Illinois Office of Rehabilitation Services and serves 12 individuals. New Focus' vocational planning services include assistance with résumés and job applications.
"The best outcome is for someone to return to their previous job," Nicolson says. "People come here at all different stages of their recovery. But sooner after the injury is better."
In April 2003, Anderson graduated from New Focus and returned to his job. Occasionally he checks back in with the program he credits for his successful rehabilitation.
"New Focus helped me gain the confidence needed to return to my job," Anderson says. "It helped me relate to people and society with my new injury while having the opportunity to exercise mentally and physically." |
