Headway on the shoulders of ACSA Disability 2008

This year's show - the only lifestyle expo and conference dealing with all types of disability - takes place from Thursday 11 September to Saturday 13 September at Gallagher Estate in Midrand.

At this years event Sylvia Birkhead from Headway Gauteng, an occupational therapist specialising in caregiver and family support, will be giving a presentation entitled “Caring for the Caregiver.” The presentation will cover caregiver “burnout” and the difficulties surrounding the long-term care that people with brain injuries need. “These injured individuals often rely heavily on family members or caregivers to assist them and are dependent on them for many functional, physical and cognitive skills”, says Sylvia. “The presentation is relevant to any person who takes care of any person with a disability, sick or injured person, their families and friends, as well as the person themselves. It is also relevant to therapists in this field. The talk will address how taxing the job of a caregiver can be, how isolating and devastating it can become. It will also focus on strategies on how to prevent this burnout from happening to the caregiver and other information that may be useful to families and friends of brain injured people.

Sylvia is the winner of the 2004 Albie Sachs OTASA (Occupational Therapists Association of South Africa) Life Award, in recognition of her role as an ambassador of the profession and her involvement with numerous associations to optimise the potential of people with disabilities. Michele Cahi, also of Headway, goes on to say that, “Sylvia Birkhead has a wealth of knowledge on this subject and is an inspirational therapist. Everyone at one time or another, will have to deal with the stress of a family member who requires some form of assistance or care and therefore all can relate to the topic.” Sylvia is also a part time lecturer in the Department of Occupational Therapy at The University of the Witwatwersrand.

Headway, now in their 13th year of operation, is a fully registered welfare organisation dedicated to offering support programmes to survivors of brain injury and their families. Members of Headway have sustained either a traumatic brain injury, as a result of a motor vehicle accident, sporting accident or assault, or acquired brain injuries such as stroke. Michele Cahi, one of the Senior Therapists at Headway says, “These people have led a full life up until the brain injury, which has caused permanent changes to physical, cognitive, emotional and behavioural processes. As you can imagine this is quite an adjustment to them and their families.”

Headway presently has two branches, one in Hyde Park and the other in Alexandra. As soon as funding permits, Headway aims to have satellite groups in all the main centres. Headway does not obtain any monetary assistance from the government, thus all funding initiatives are from private or corporate donations instigated by the organisation. Headway is recognised as a training institution by both the Occupational and Speech Therapy Departments at The University of the Witwatersrand (who use the facility for practical work) and is registered with the Wits Health Consortium for the continuing professional development of the therapists.

Headway offers the following services:

· A family support group consisting of families with someone dear to them living with a brain injury.

·A lay counselling service offering call centre facility with one-on-one counselling to families.

A holistic therapy day programme which provides injured members with a structured, productive day where stimulating and enjoyable activities and social skills are practiced, supervised by fully trained therapists and volunteers from the community.

Complimentary services include:

·Booklets and in all major emergency wards

·Social get-togethers for families

·A monthly newsletter

·A Small lending library

·Home and hospital visits

·Legal referrals

ACSA Disability 2008 Expo and Conference is an event committed to improving the lives of those with developmental and physical disabilities, their families, care-givers and professionals who work with them. Now in its fourth year, Bette McNaughton, spokesperson and event director for the show, is confident that ACSA Disability 2008 is uniquely positioned to reach PWDs (People With Disabilities), a growing sector of the community which has largely untapped buying power.

Supporting Organisations

The following Associations support the event:

¨ APD (Association of the Physically Disabled)

¨ Barrier Breakers

¨ DPSA (Disabled People South Africa)

¨ DEAFSA (Deaf Federation of South Africa)

¨ Dystonia Association

¨ ILC (Independent Living Council)

¨ NCPPDSA (National Council for Persons with Disabilities in South Africa)

¨ QASA (Quadriplegic Association of South Africa)

¨ SAAA (South African Association for Audiologists)

¨ SA Federation for Mental Health

¨ SAOPA (South African Orthotic and Prosthetic Association)

¨SHAP (Self Help Association for Paraplegics)

¨ SANCB (South African Council for the Blind)

Airports Company South Africa (ACSA) is a major sponsor of this year's event.

Contacts

Overall management of the expo and conference: Bette McNaughton of Fair Consultants SA. Tel: (021) 713 3360. Fax: (021) 713 3366. E-mail: Website: www.fairconsultants.com

Public Relations: Contact Catherine Larkin at CVL Consulting. Tel (011) 789-7327 / 083 300 0331. E-mail:

Headway Gauteng: Tel (011) 442 5733. Fax (011) 447 9957. E-mail . Website: www.headway-gauteng.org