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MAKING
Bringing positive change in the lives of those affected by Acquired Brain Injury
Spring 2010 Issue
Making Headway is published by
Inside
Fundraising News 2
Telling Tales 3
Headway’s First Annual Bikers’ Run 5
Helping Each Other Out... 6
Research into Practice 7
My Story, My Promise 9
Research Round Up 11
1

Welcome to the Summer Edition
of Making Headway
Having friends and a social life is something we can easily take for granted but it is
important for our wellbeing that we have both. As Julie, one of our contributors
says – “we are all social beings”. Having a brain injury, or looking after someone with a
brain injury can introduce challenges to getting out and about socially. In this summer
edition of Making Headway, some of the articles put a focus on this aspect of life
following injury and I hope you find them stimulating and interesting.
We also have our usual round up of fundraising, research and other news, so I hope you
find plenty to enjoy.
Thanks to each and every one of you who chose to receive Making Headway either through
email or post by responding to our survey. As ever, please send your comments, ideas or
contributions to me at stablesr@headway.ie and enjoy the summer!
Richard, Editor, Making Headway
A Message from the Chief Executive
Dear Reader,
News across the political and commercial
world is continuously negative. However,
services in the voluntary disability sector
continue to be delivered in a positive and
professional manner by caring people
operating with a consistent degree of
enthusiasm and creativity.
In times of difficulty, we tend to renew and
identify with the “meitheal” spirit – the old Irish
word for “connection with neighbour” or “spirit of
community”. The meitheal spirit looks to family
and friends, kindred souls, supporters of a cause
and communities of interest. A problem shared
is a problem halved and difficulties are often
opportunities to better things. The meitheal
spirit encourages us to achieve something and
celebrate that achievement with others.
The “Crazy Rankins”
The communities of
interests in our chain are
our wonderful clients,
their families and carers,
staff, our wider partners in
the voluntary sector, the
HSE, other State agencies,
volunteers and fundraisers.
What we can achieve together is much greater
than what we can achieve individually, but break
the chain and the service is potentially weakened
or damaged.
These are difficult times but we will prevail if we
adopt the meitheal spirit. Now is the time for us
all to embrace it.
Kieran
Front Cover: Pictures
reading clockwise from
top left: (a) Alan Murphy,
Headway Cork trainee at
the launch of a boat built
by the group. (b) Crowds
at the first Headway Biker’s
Run. (c) Paraic Crehan,
Headway Cork, at the
launch of the coracle built
by Headway trainees. (d)
Hilda Hastings at the Cork
art exhibition with her
piece “Gratefully Accepted.
(f) Bikers at the Biker’s Run.
(g) Deidre Patel (Headway),
Simon McBeth and Emma
Hopwood from Eflow who
have adopted Headway
as one of their charities
to support. (f) Headway
Cork Service Users
relaxing with a cuppa. (g)
Dublin Day Service Users
relaxing together. (h)
Ruth (Headway) and Ellen
collecting for Headway
during Brain Awareness
Week.
A huge thank you has to go to the “Crazy Rankins”
who are: Andrew Rankin, Robert Searson and
Lyndsey Rankin (pictured right). They all took
part in The Wicklow Adventure Race on 17th
April and ran, kayaked and cycled a staggering
73km around Wicklow. It took 5hours and 30
minutes to complete the challenge. Between
them they raised a very impressive €2,020 in
aid of Headway. We are very grateful and very
impressed by their support.
Andrew, Robert and Lyndsey, aka the “Crazy Rankins”
2

Making Headway Summer 2010
Telling Tales
Headway Finglas Trainees Troy Donnelly, John
Grundy and Tommy Leonard and are in conversation
with Samantha Whelan about their social and work
lives following brain injury.
John: I’m nearly two years discharged from
hospital after my stroke. For the first few months,
my social life wasn’t great. Since then I see friends
now at least on average two to three time a week.
We usually go out as my apartment is very small.
We might go to the local pub for a coffee and a chat
or to a local restaurant. So in that sense, I would
have a social life, I do get out. The only thing is -
my social life is not fully controlled by me. I can’t
just walk out and go to a pub. I won’t go to a pub
on my own, even for a soft drink. I need somebody
to take me. Likewise, visiting is only done strictly
at others invitation and also if I can
get transport. I can’t afford taxis all the
time. So the idea of ringing someone
up and saying “would you mind me
calling up for half an hour” - That’s
gone. So my social life is dependent
on others. Luckily I do have loads of
friends.
Tommy: I’m not as badly off as John is. I
don’t think my social life got too much
affected by the injuries I got. I go out, I always did.
I go for a few pints. I also still enjoy going out with
my wife or my daughter to visit museums and
other places of historical interest. Last week I went
to see a show for the first time in the O2 in Dublin.
Strictly come dancing!
Samantha: Were you under pressure to go there
Tommy or did you go under your own free will
Tommy: I had to be encouraged to go! - But I
enjoyed it. It was grand! One thing that put me off
going again though was the large crowd.
Troy: When I came out of hospital, I went into a
nursing home. When I came out, I didn’t really
have a social life. I’m much more sociable now as
I’m coming to the end of my time here. Attending
Headway has helped me to be able to socialise
rather than just vegetating at home. Going on
outings with the group has helped me to be able
to go out with my children -my personality is
more outgoing now. Headway has helped me to
deal with a lot of anger that I had so I am able to
socialise better. I find it important to have a sense
of humour to deal with people and situations.
John: I went back to work part time. The first
year after my stroke I never ever thought I would
return to work. I spent seven months in hospital.
During the first two months I was
in danger of not making it. I never
...The first year
after my stroke
I never ever
thought I would
return to work...
thought I would see O’Connell
Street again. I certainly never
believed for one moment that I
would ever be able to go back
to teaching. Emotionally I didn’t
think I could go back. My memory
and my general intellect are fine
-the Headway neuropsychological
assessment proved that I am
perfectly ok to teach, but I decided I wasn’t strong
enough. During the second year, in the summer of
2009 I was asked by a guy in charge of the night
school to come back. He said ‘John I don’t see why
you can’t come back. You might have a physical
disability but after a while the students will get
used to that. Concentrate on your ability to teach
rather than your physical disability’. I decided to
give it a go, not thinking for one moment that I
would be successful. I thought I might have to
drop out by Christmas. But now, this is going
extremely well, I’m really enjoying it.
This helped with my social life because I have a
number of teacher friends. One guy was very
good by giving me lifts and I enjoy all the chats in
the staff room.
3

Tommy: I was asked if I would like to do voluntary
work in Collins Barracks and I jumped on the
chance. I never thought that would ever be
allowed to do something like that. Imagine me
coming out of the scrubs in Cabra. I thought,
wow, me going into Collins Barracks to work with
artefacts. I remember hearing about a lot of these
artefacts being dug up in the 70’s and there I end
up... I didn’t think it would happen to me. I felt
privileged. I get to clean the artefacts, cut the foam
and re-bag them to keep them preserved. I also
came up with a more efficient way of doing things
which came from my previous work experience.
This was copied throughout the
project and helped everybody.
Troy: Tommy really enjoys it. When
Tommy comes in from the project
in Collins Barracks we can tell by
Tommy’s face. We can all see the
difference in Tommy since he
started in Collins Barracks.
Tommy:…I get a sense of
achievement from doing the
voluntary work. The only thing
missing now is the money. I hope
that the experience I am getting
will help me to get me a job. The people I work
with in the museum are nice. They make me feel
like one of them.
Troy: That’s good. That’s socialising. It’s getting
you back into society.
Tommy: One day, I was there doing my work
and the phone rang. The girl said ‘Tommy It’s for
you’. I was shocked, I was getting a phone call in
an office. It was one of the other girls who works
there thanking me for work I had done the day
before.
John: You deserve it. What you do is appreciated.
You deserve it.
Tommy: I have to say, fair play to Headway even
asking me to go in to Collins Barracks. I never
thought I could do it.
Troy... For
anybody coming
into Headway,
acceptance is so
important. After that
it’s onwards and
upwards
John: That’s your lack of confidence.
Tommy: Now I tell everybody in the pub about it!
Troy: I’m on the Headway advocacy group which
is great. We’ve all got to know each other. One of
my shortcomings is my loss of short term memory.
I might not remember all of their names but we
meet as friends and we ask how each other’s life
is going. I have travelled to Cork and Limerick for
meetings to meet with group representatives from
both counties. It’s a good way to meet new people.
We come up with ways of how we can make more
people aware of Headway and
how to try to come up with ways
of raising funds. I then feedback
the information from the meetings
to the group in Finglas. The best
part for me is making a lot more
friends.
I have also started doing voluntary
work two days a week in a day care
centre that looks after the elderly.
It’s great. It’s all good. I help them
with playing bingo, serving meals
and doing the garden. I will be
going out on social outings. I know
I will gain a lot from doing the voluntary work. It
will help with my confidence and with being able
to socialise with people. That’s a big thing for me -
I had a fear of how I would react to people.
John: Coming to Headway has helped me to get
closer to the life I had. It will never be total restored
but I have got a lot better. I am trying slowly to
rebuild my life. Headway has been really, really
important.
Tommy: Headway must be good because we keep
coming in. Even if sometimes there might be bad
days we still come back the next day. I overheard
people talking about me down in the museum
saying Tommy’s very clever. I give them a lot of
information. I feel equal to everybody else there.
Troy: For anybody coming into Headway,
acceptance is so important. After that it’s onwards
and upwards.
4

Making Headway Summer 2010
Headway’s
First Annual
Bikers’ Run
The country’s capital was over-run on Sunday
March 7th for Headway’s first ever Bikers’
event. The sun came out and with it, many
leather-clad motor-bike enthusiasts to help
launch the start of a number of events for
Headway’s Brain Awareness Week.
South King St. outside the Gaiety Theatre was
a flush with over 60 bikers who registered
for this very exciting event. This was a first time
outing for Headway and as it proved to be highly
successful, we are already making arrangements
for next year’s ride-out. We’d like to take this
opportunity to thank the “Valkyrie
Riders Cruisers Club” (VRCC) whose
committee worked tirelessly to both
promote and round up all the bikers
on the day. With the assistance of
98fm, TR O’Reilly & Cassidy Covers,
Dublin city centre was buzzing with
the sound of motor-bike horns
and the smell of gasoline! Even
An Garda Síochana assisted with a
special escort provided to the bikers
to help them exit the city centre
comfortably! Headway’s very own
ambassador, Keith Barry, arrived to
entertain on-lookers, while Siobhan
Lee, a member of Headway’s Finance Department,
used her face painting talents to entertain the
younger members of the crowd. There really was
Headway Ambassador, Keith
Barry, and friends
a great deal of excitement in the air.
Although this was an awareness raising event for
Headway, it also proved very successful from a
fund-raising perspective, in total we collected over
€750 on the morning, all of which
will go towards service provision
here at Headway. Again, a very big
thank you to all who supported
Headway, it was heart warming to
see such support on a very bright
& early Sunday morning. The bikers
could not have received a better
send off.
Headway would also like to say
a huge “Thank you” to Ann and
Paul Nolan, Arthur Smith, Cory
O’Connor, Jo Nolan and Ciaran
Nolan for their support in arranging
the day. Don’t forget to keep an eye out on the
Headway web-site for more up-coming events
like these.
A Date with Wellness
Seventeen carers made the most of an invitation to
a “Date with Wellness” to mark the start of National
Carers Week 14th to 20th June in our Manor Street
Dublin centre. As well as the opportunity to offer
each other support and advice for coping with
the consequences of brain injury, the participants
benefitted from sessions on relaxation, meditation
and stress management and were treated to
some muffins and a cream tea on a glorious sunny
Saturday morning.
Carers time out at the “Date with Wellness”
5

Helping Each Other Out – The Cork
Ladies Social Club
The Social Club was set up with the support of the Headway Community
Integration Rehabilitation team in Cork. Currently in its early stages, it
comprises three women all local to the Cork area. Julie Slattery writes
about setting up the club.
6
The idea for setting up the Social Club arose
from observing and identifying some particular
challenges faced by people following an injury in
pursuing their social lives. For example, we found
that after their injury, many of our clients’ social
lives revolved primarily around their families. We
noted comments, such as “I was hanging around
with my mum for a lot of the time”, “I spent most
of my time with my family as well, especially my
sisters”. Also, clients reported that during the
period of recovery following injury, friends often
either moved on with their lives or moved away
from the area.
The Social Club aims to increase participation in
social and recreational activities and increase the
members’ confidence in their own social skills. At
the outset, one aim was that this group would
eventually become fully independent following
initial introductions made by Headway. The group
would be in charge of arranging and organising
their own activities and maintaining weekly
contact with each other. The members could
however always contact the team should an issue
arise that they needed support with.
This idea was suggested to three clients with
whom Headway had been working individually.
Each client had been living and adjusting to their
brain injury for some time and had also expressed
an interest in meeting others socially. One said
“I wanted to meet other people to improve my
confidence in myself and build up my self esteem.
I wanted to have a social life and meet with others.
I wanted to have friendships.” Another lady said “I
wanted to meet other people, even just to have a
cup of tea and a chat with.”
When the group met up they each introduced
themselves, talked about what activities they
might like to do together and exchanged numbers.
The Headway team met with them on the first
few occasions but they now, as was hoped, meet
independently of Headway. They meet up on
Wednesday afternoons and decide each week
what they will do the following week and where
and when they will meet.
So far the group have sampled a wide range of
activities. They have made trips to the Crawford
Art Gallery, Fitzgerald Park, Cork City Musem and
the Cork Vision Centre and also to Shandon to ring
the bells. The group say that they are particularly
fond of “doing lunch”! As confidence increases, the
group are planning events further afield including
an upcoming trip to Dublin.
Each member of the group has expressed how
much they enjoy meeting and what it means to
them. One lady said “I enjoy the company. I like
meeting every week and knowing that it’s going
to happen again next week. My sisters call to my
house and we sometimes go out but they have
their own lives as well and I want my own social
life outside of them too. Everyone needs friends
and company and in the social club we all have
something in common”. Another member said “I
enjoy meeting the others and having a chat. Its
something I look forward to. It is nice to spend
time with people outside my family. We all have
different injuries but we can talk about it with each
other.” Another lady said “We have a good old laugh
when we meet. We have good times, good chats
and good laughs and I love the company as well.
This social club gives me friends and something
to look forward to. It also means that I’m not alone
in my suffering because I can talk to the others. It’s
nice to meet with people who we have things in
common with. We can help each other out.”
We are all social beings and need social interaction
in our daily lives and Headway clients are no
different. As was eloquently explained by one
member, “everyone needs a social life. You get

Making Headway Summer 2010
stuck in your own thoughts and troubles if you are
only in your own company all the time... The social
club is part of my routine now and its something I
enjoy being part of”. The social club brings people
together with similar interests to participate in
activities chosen and organised by them. It is their
club and this may explain why it is so important
to them. When asked if they will continue to
meet up, all replied “definitely”. The support and
companionship they give each other cannot be
underestimated.
Research into Practice: Measuring
Clinical Outcomes using CORE
Dr. Barbara Mensenkampff, Senior Clinical Psychologist, explains
CORE, one of the tools Headway uses in its evidence-based approach
to therapy.
As Psychologists working in
Headway Cork we provide
assessments, therapy and support
to people with acquired brain
injury. This service extends to the family and carers
also. We work on a one-to-one basis as well as with
groups of clients. Many of you will be aware of the
idea of neuropsychological assessments. These are
the tests we undertake to establish what areas of
peoples’ brains have been affected by their injury.
Once we have this information we are in a better
position to plan rehabilitation or retraining for
individuals. Neuropsychological tests can also be
used to monitor peoples’ recovery. This involves
testing the person and keeping account of their
results and then re-testing them at a later date and
comparing the scores. We take a similar approach
to therapy. We use measures to establish where
people are at the beginning of therapy and we
re-test at the end of the therapy. In this way we
can ascertain how effective therapy was as well as
monitoring changes in the persons overall situation.
One of the tools we use to do this is called the
CORE – Clinical Outcomes in Routine Evaluation.
In this article I am going to describe the CORE and
speak a bit about why Headway Psychologists use
this measure.
In 1996 the Department of Health in the UK carried
out an extensive review of psychotherapy services.
One of the important findings that emerged from
this review was that outcome measures provide
the link between clinical practice and research. In
other words, the review identified that information
from clinical settings needed to be collected and
compared to research information almost as a
quality control measure. One of the difficulties of
evaluating the effectiveness of therapy was that
different professionals were using different tools
to measure therapeutic outcomes. This meant
that comparisons were not possible. The CORE
was developed in 1998 to resolve this problem. A
group of Clinical Psychologists, Psychotherapists,
Psychiatrists and counsellors came together and
designed one questionnaire that everyone could
use. In this way, comparisons could be drawn
between different types of therapy, or different
therapists or different services etc.
The CORE was also designed to provide audit
information on the service. In common with
business practice everywhere Psychology has
had to provide evidence that what we do is
cost effective and beneficial. However because
human beings are not products, we do not look
at production costs or output instead we examine
how we spend our time with clients and what the
outcome is for the client. The information used to
assess the service itself includes items on waiting
times, the appropriateness of the referral, the nonattendance
rates, etc, which allow us to examine
our efficiency and identify if and where changes
need to be made.
So what is the CORE comprised of The CORE has
three main sections: a Therapy Assessment Form
– filled by the therapist; an Outcome Measure –
filled by the person; and an End of Therapy Form
– filled by the therapist.
The Therapy Assessment form collects the kind of
information that most Psychologists would use
at their first session with a person. Details about
who the person lives with, a brief description of
the problem they want help with, whether they
have had therapy previously, medication they are
7

taking, whether they engage in self harm or not,
how they have tried to address the problem etc,
all help the Psychologist and the individual to
develop a collaborative plan of action. This plan is
Doreen
used to direct
Hoerold
therapy and set out the goals which
the person is hoping to achieve. It can also be used
subseqently to ascertain whether the Psychological
intervention was useful or not.
This form also gathers information about the quality
of the service. It monitors how long the client
had to wait for their first appointment, how many
assessments they received, whether they were
offered a follow-up appointment, who referred the
client etc. These details are used to monitor how
well the service generally is performing. Because
the form is filled whether clients undertake therapy
or not, it provides a type of profile of the clients who
come to the service, the ones who stay and the ones
who do not. This information can then be used to
identify inappropriate referrals and maximise the
opportunities for appropriate referrals.
The Outcome Measure is a list of 34 statements
which the client rates from 0 (Not at all) to 4 (Most
of the time). It is examining four dimensions:
1. Subjective well being – e.g. “I have felt O.K.
about myself.
2. Problems – e.g. “I have been troubled by aches,
pains or other physical problems.
3. Life functioning – e.g. “I have felt able to cope
when things go wrong”.
4. Risk – e.g.”I have thought of hurting myself”.
Higher scores indicate someone who is very
distressed, lower scores indicate fewer problems.
The final section is the End of Therapy Form. This has
to be filled by the therapist for every person who
has had more than one session. This form compiles
information on the individual’s attendance record,
how many sessions were offered, the type of
therapy undertaken, the frequency of therapy and
how therapy ended. It also looks at whether therapy
impacted on the person’s insight, coping, planning,
functioning and personal relationships, how well
the person engaged with the therapist, whether
medication was changed as a result of therapy and
whether the client needs to be followed up in the
future.
By gathering information on the person’s experience
of therapy, any changes to their quality of life,
how the service functioned, who the Psychologist
was, what kind of therapy they provided, etc., the
Psychology team can learn a lot about the service
we are providing. This information helps us to
understand the needs of our clients better. We
learn about what we are doing well, where we need
to improve as well as identifying changes that we
need to make to improve our service. This process
of evaluating outcomes for people and using the
information to shape the service we offer ensures
that we provide a client-centred rehabilitation
service for people with ABI. It guarantees that our
practice is in line with best practice guidelines (e.g.
evidence based practice). It helps us to contribute
to and develop research for brain injury which
in turn can be used to advocate for the rights of
people with acquired brain injury. In today’s world
where the bottom line is always - can you prove
it - we listen what our clients tell us and respond
accordingly. The CORE is one of the tools that helps
us to do this.
8
Thank You, Thank You, Thank You!
...to the 55 wonderful women who volunteered
to walk, jog and run in the Flora women’s mini
marathon on the 7th June in Dublin. We hope
you all enjoyed the day, we truly appreciate your
support, when you have it all collected please
send in your sponsorship money to Fiona Mc
Keon, Headway, 1-3 Manor Street Business Park,
Manor Street Dublin 7. Thank you again for your
continued support.
... to the ladies that took part in the Great Limerick
Run on 2nd May we really appreciate your
support.
Headway Ringsend Service Users and Staff
...to Ann and Pat Fitzgerald for hosting a wonderful
fundraising Cabaret night on 2nd May in Carlow.
A great night was had by all and Ann and Pat
managed to raise a fantastic €1,680!
…to all that took part in the pub quiz on 11th
June in Russell’s Pub Limerick a great night was
had by all.
This year you helped us raise nearly €3,000 by
raffling off beautiful Baskets of Butlers Easter Eggs,
Thank you to everyone who took an egg.Rodney
Vickers

Making Headway Summer 2010
My Story, My Promise
My name is Warren and this is my story. When I was six years old I fell off a
bus shelter onto my head. I remained unconscious for 10-15 minutes and
on the way to the hospital I stopped breathing, but I made a good recovery.
Then one day, when I was fourteen, I was taking a fast way home with
friends. We had to get over a gate and my ring got caught in the gate and
when I jumped, my finger came off. I lost four pints of blood.
I have been in and out of hospital most of my life.
I didn’t return to school over problems with other
pupils saying things about my missing finger. So
I just left school. I always wanted to be a fireman
but couldn’t because I had lost my finger. I do
think I still have a finger but I don’t. When I tried to
pick things up they used to fall through the gap of
my hand where my finger used to be. It is hard to
cope without it but it does get easier each year.
I used to hang around at the train station in my
local area. One evening I was messing around the
stairwell of the stairs. I was joking as to what would
happen if I fell off the balcony 20 ft high and all
of a sudden I slipped and was left hanging on the
ledge. But I couldn’t hold on as I had a weak right
hand with a finger missing, so I fell to the ground
and busted my head open. I lost a lot of blood
and I was taken to hospital.
I was sent for a scan and they discovered that I had
swelling of the brain and two clots. I was put in an
induced coma for a week, but I did make a gradual
recovery.
I had another fall in April 2008. As other people tell
me, we went to the Phoenix Park and climbed the
papal cross and somehow I lost my balance and
fell down the steps and cracked my head on the
concrete. I was taken to Connolly hospital and was
in intensive care for 27 days. When I awoke I was
unable to move my arm or leg and I was unable
to speak.
It was to be a long struggle to get back to myself,
if I ever will. The Warren that awoke on that day is
a different Warren. I now have to stay off drink in
order to control my anger and stay out of situations
that I can’t control.
I owe my recovery to Headway. It is a long, long
road to recovery and there is a glimmer at the end.
But I can see it and it will be a light. I have to say
a big thank you to my parents and family. I have
made their lives hard for the past few years but I
will make it up to them by getting the help I need
and work hard at it.
Headway Signs Road Safety Charter
At a recent ceremony in Dublin,
Headway joined a group of other
Irish organisations in signing up to
the European Road Safety Charter
in the presence of the European
Commission and the Minister for
Transport, Noel Dempsey TD. The
charter has as its aim to reduce
road deaths by 25,000 across the
European Union and has a website
at www.erscharter.eu
“Kieran Loughran, Headway CEO (back row 5 from L), joins signatories
to the EU Road Safety Charter
9

Day Rehabilitative
Service Mallow
The Headway Day Rehabilitative
Service in Cork now has a new
string to its bow. Since January of this
year, the service has been operating
one day per week to clients living in
the North Cork area. Based in the
newly opened Gilbert Centre in Fair
Street, Mallow, the service operates
from 10.30 until 3.30 on a Tuesday.
At present there are five clients
benefitting from the service on a
weekly basis, supported by two staff
and a volunteer from the Headway
team in Ballincollig.
So far, the new venture has been a
great success with the five clients
thoroughly enjoying a holistic
rehabilitative service without the need to travel
far from home. The Headway staff members also
report a very good atmosphere and camaraderie
amongst the attendees. Activities to date have
included Personal Development, Cognitive
Exercises, Art and Crafts, Exercise and Relaxation
and Brain Injury Awareness. The group were also
involved in putting together an information day
on Headway in the Gilbert Centre during Brain
Awareness Week 2010.
Headway Limerick celebrated cultural diversity
recently with a Polish-Irish Day held in the centre.
The day was part of the FETAC Level 4 Cultural
Studies module and was delivered by Headway’s
own Monika Pilch. Feedback from other clients
was very positive with huge interest in Polish
history and geography and much enjoyment of
the Polish food. ‘Fasolka po bretonsku’ – beans
with pork in tomato sauce and ‘Zurek’ sour rye
soup prepared by clients, proved very popular
with seconds being the order of the day!
Headway Service Users Breda Casey and Alan Quinn with Bridget
Hannan (Headway, centre)
Headway would like to take this opportunity
to thank all of those involved in securing this
vital service for these clients and also to wish
the service further success in the future. If you
would like more details on the North Cork service
please feel free to contact Paul O’Callaghan, Day
Rehabilitative Service Manager Cork at 021 –
4871303 or ocallaghanp@headway.ie
Polish-Irish Day In Limerick
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Pat O Gorman presenting to fellow clients during
Polish-Irish Day in the Headway Limerick centre

Making Headway Summer 2010
Research Round Up
In this edition, Headway Assistant Psychologist
Doreen Hoerold takes a look at three recent
research papers investigating the theme of social
life and social integration following brain injury.
Levebvrem H., Cloutier, G. & Levert, M.J. (2008).
Perspectives of Survivors of traumatic brain
injury and their caregivers on long-term social
integration. Brain Injury, 22 (7-8), 535-543.
This study used interviews with people affected
by brain injury to explore aspects of long-term
social integration. The researchers spoke to people
who sustained a traumatic brain injury more than
10 years ago, and also their caregivers/family
members. A number of important themes emerged
from the content of these interviews: Firstly, almost
all participants expressed dissatisfaction with
the shortage of services and resources following
rehabilitation. Also, many people reported having
to look to their own resources, and having to
depend heavily on caregivers for their day-today
re-learning of physical, cognitive and social
skills. A survivor’s perception of “successful social
integration” was closely linked with having good
social support, both from friends and family. Social
isolation, by contrast, was linked with depression
and other difficulties, such as addiction, job loss
and subsequent high risk of poverty.
Hux, K., Bush, E., Zickefoose, S., Holmberg, M.,
Henderson, A. & Simanek, G. (2010). Exploring
the study skills and accommodations used by
college student survivors of traumatic brain
injury. Brain Injury, 24 (1), 13 – 26.
An important aspect of successful social and
community integration is meaningful activity.
For many young people who have sustained an
acquired brain injury, this often involves a return
to education or training. This study explored the
difficulties encountered by four college student
survivors of severe traumatic brain injury (TBI).
Most commonly, these challenges include
difficulties with mastering new information and
difficulties with applying known information
to new situations. This often, in turn, creates
unrealistic expectations among those with
TBI, family members, and educators who may
be unfamiliar with the consequences of brain
injury. The results of the study suggest that when
it comes to learning, awareness of one’s own
strengths and limitations is crucial to success in
college. The study also identified much variation
among individual survivors of TBI. The paper
recommends that educators should be made
aware of the potential difficulties experienced by
their students, and should be informed about the
nature of brain injury and its impact on learning
and academic performance.
Fraas, M. & Bellerose, A. (2010). Mentoring
programme for adolescent survivors of acquired
brain injury. Brain Injury, 24 (1), 50-61.
This study describes a 10-week mentoring
programme for survivors of acquired brain injury.
During the programme used in this study, an adult
brain injury survivor mentored an adolescent who
was a survivor of brain injury through encephalitis.
The pair met once per week, to discuss issues of
mutual interest, catch up, play board games, and
attend community meetings together, in a local
health and wellness facility in New Hampshire,
USA. Results from questionnaires administered
prior to and following the 10-week programme
suggest that both the mentor and adolescent
with ABI perceived an improvement in quality
of life. In addition, the adolescent improved on
a number of aspects of adjustment, including
anxiety level, depression, fatigue and appropriate
social interaction. These results are encouraging
in that they indicate the potential efficacy of
such mentoring programmes for survivors of
ABI, however, the authors also caution that these
results are relatively preliminary, and must be
validated in larger group studies in the future.
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Making Headway Summer 2010
Contact Information
Head Office
Unit 1-3 Manor St. Business Park, Manor St., Dublin 7
Tel: (01) 810 2066 Fax: (01) 810 2070
Web: www.headway.ie Email: info@headway.ie
Information and Support Line
1890 200 278
email: helpline@headway.ie
Monday – Friday, 9 am to 1 pm and 2 – 5 pm (local call rate)
Dublin Office
Unit 1-3 Manor Street Business Pk, Shea’s Lane,
off Manor Street, Dublin 7
Tel: 01 810 2066 Fax: 01 810 2070
Web: www.headway.ie Email: info@headway.ie
Rehabilitative Training & Day Rehabilitative Services, Employment
Support, Neuropsychological Assessment,Psychotherapy,
Counselling and Information and Support.
Cork Office
Unit B3, Link Road Business Park, Ballincollig, Cork
Tel: 021 487 1303 Fax: 021 487 1305
Rehabilitative Training & Employment Support,
Rehabilitative Day Services and Community Integration.
Cork Psychology & Family Support Services
Kenny Group House, Carrigrohane Road, Cork
Tel: 021 434 7625 Fax: 021 434 7477
Brain Injury Rehabilitation, Neuropsychological Assessment,
Psychotherapy, Counselling, Family Support,and Social Work
Services.
Limerick Office
Jutland Hall, Steamboat Quay, Dock Rd., Limerick
Tel: 061 469 305 or 061 469 306
Rehabilitative Training, Vocational Training Programme,
Supported Employment, Neuropsychological Assessment,
Psychotherapy,Counselling and Family Support
Kerry Office (Psychological Services)
Fairies Cross, Clounalour, Tralee, Co. Kerry
Tel: 066 711 9320 Fax: 066 711 9321
Psychotherapy and Counselling
South East Office
6B Prior’s Orchard, John’s Quay, Kilkenny
Tel: 056 778 6240
Information and Support, Family Support
Diary Dates
Marathons
Following the success of the women in the Flora
mini-marathon, we are launching an appeal for
volunteers to participate in the various upcoming
runs to raise funds for our services. We will supply
your sponsorship form and T shirts and you
register with the chosen run, for more information
please log onto www.headway.ie/runforheadway
or email mckeonf@headway.ie
• Killarney Women’s Mini Marathon on 26th June
• Evening Echo Women’s Mini Marathon Cork,
26th Sept
• Limerick Leaders Limerick Women’s Mini
Marathon, 3rd Oct
• Adidas Dublin Marathon, 25th Oct
Golf Day
The Headway Golf Day is on Thursday 2nd Sept
2010. Simply arrive in the beautiful surrounds
of Roganstown Golf & Country Club, Swords, Co
Dublin for 18 holes of golf on the challenging
course designed by Christy O’Connor Jr. A team
of four costs €280, a lunch will be provided. If you
cannot participate on the day would you consider
sponsoring a team Please contact Fiona or Teresa
on Ph: 01 8102066 to book a tee time.
Limerick Ball 2010
The much anticipated Limerick Ball will be held
on 4th Dec in the Radisson SAS Hotel . We are
taking bookings now please phone Denis on Ph:
061 469305. A table of 10 costs €1,000 individual
tickets are available at €100
Art Auction
Limerick Art Auction, Hunt Museum, August (date
TBC) please check on our website for updates
www.headway.ie
Fashion Show
Fashion Show 1st Oct 2010 – The Strand Hotel,
Limerick. Mr. World will be there on the night!
please contact our Limerick office for Tickets on
061469305
Find us on Facebook at
www.facebook.com/Headway.ie
Follow us on Twitter at
www.twitter.com/HeadwayIreland
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