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Last updated Saturday, Aug. 21, 2004

Advocacy & Education

Advocacy and the Schools

Many parents find that the entry of their child into the school system thrusts them more than ever into the role of advocate for their child.  The pages below offer basic information about the special education process and the Individualized Education Plan (IEP) to aid parents in their navigation of it.


Advocacy and the Government

Your opinions, expressed publicly, can influence these kids' futures - from the services they receive to the research done into their treatment. For example, 6.5% of children suffer from a chronic disability, and 44% of those are caused by acquired brain injuries, the focus of BRIGHT.

There are four million births in the U.S. annually, 260,000 annual cases of disability, with 115,000 caused by brain injury. Premature births are increasing at an alarming 12% a year. Advances in neonatal care are preventing mortality, but poor neurological outcome often results. The average life expectancy with brain injury is 40 years, with a $4,000,000 lifetime care cost. The total burden to society is $10,000,000,000. And yet, research funding does not reflect this.

Addressing this gap between impact and funding is a major goal of BRIGHT. Of course, we hope that you will consider a donation to help us continue our work, including the direct funding of promising research projects. But please also consider writing your U.S. Senators and Representative to encourage them to address this gap in spending by the National Institutes of Health.

Below is a free service that allows you to locate your federal representatives.  You can also locate state representatives, local officials, federal and state agencies, and media contacts, find out how your senators and representative voted, get updates on a variety of political issues, and post your opinions.  It looks to us like a pretty good service.  Let us know if you find it useful. 

Home | Donate | About Us | Discussion Group | Treatments and Research | Current TreatmentsThe Bright Project | News | Advocacy and Education | For the Professional | Case Studies | Contact Us | Advisory Panel | Member Introductions | Search