At the National Naval Medical Center, 26 federal and state veteran-service and disability-orientated organizations joined from around the country to learn the causes, symptoms and techniques of managing workers with TBI.

“The intention is to educate a community of employers about brain injury,” said Dr. Maria Mouratidis, neuropsychologist and NNMC Command Consultant/Subject Matter Expert for TBI and Psychological Health. “Patients with brain injury can do a lot of things, almost anything, but they may need certain accommodations.”

These accommodations may include regular feedback on performance, verbal and visual instructions presented very explicitly, working in a setting with little distraction or taking additional time to practice a new task, Mouratidis said.

TBI is a biological disruption to brain function that results from an external physical event. This disruption can cause physical, cognitive and emotional symptoms, Mouratidis said.

Helping a potential employer understand the necessity for administrative and environmental accommodations is important to workplace success, Mouratidis said.

Speaking on a panel of people that have successfully reintegrated into the workplace was Karen Morris, an equal opportunity specialist at the Justice Department.

“When I first started returning to work, there was no education for employers on the injury or the potential symptoms that may occur in different settings,” Morris said. “The fact that I have a hidden disability, even when you tell someone and they understand, people often forget.”

On Jan. 17, 1999, Morris suffered a traumatic brain injury in a car accident and spent over a month in a coma. Diagnosed with severe TBI with post traumatic amnesia, she currently suffers fatigue, headaches, blurred and double vision and language processing difficulties.

“These workshops are extremely useful, not only giving survivors a point of reference for what is out there and what they can do and recognize that it is not solely on the individual, but also the employers to alleviate issues in a workplace setting,” Morris said.

The hardest part of recovery and reintegrating into the community is making people aware that there is an issue, Morris said.

In many TBI cases, people are reluctant to tell their employers or potential employers they have a disorder, Mouratidis said.

“Sometimes they don’t like to say, especially if they are previous military, that they are having trouble with something,” Mouratidis said. “They don’t want to ask for help because it makes them think, or someone else think, they can’t do their job. That’s not the case.”

The training cultivates an environment where it is acceptable to ask for help and fosters good communication between the employee and supervisor, Mouratidis said.

“A lot of people misconstrue brain injury and brain damage. It’s very unique for each individual. People need to remember that,” Morris said. “In the lay community, you typically don’t really pay attention [to brain injuries] until it happens to someone you know.”

The event is part of larger training programs coordinated by the Veteran Speakers Network and the Disabled American Veteran Roundtable group to assist veterans and civilians with TBI and post traumatic stress disorder rehabilitate and transition back to a normal life.

BJ Allgood, director of Fleet and Family Support at Bethesda, was appreciative for the time and effort of these companies to learn about TBI. A veteran of Iraq, Allgood has experienced many of the problems that occur when reintegrating.

“It’s truly about helping people be successful and not to label them as sick,” Allgood said. “They have skills that can be used in the workforce. The training opens the door and lessens the anxiety employers have.”

“We received nothing but positive feedback, the information was presented in a timely way and the presenters were precise,” Allgood said.