This week, the Department of Defense announced the launch of a new online program that will help servicemembers and veterans with traumatic brain injuries continue their higher education.
Developed by the Defense and Veterans Brain Injury Center, "Back to School: A Guide to Academic Success After Traumatic Brain Injury" is a comprehensive handbook that can be accessed through the center's website. The guide addresses various ways in which veterans and servicemembers with TBIs can return to school despite the difficulties of their physical and psychological symptoms, including chronic head pain, insomnia and an inability to concentrate.
"The idea of going back to school is not easy for anybody," Navy Lt. Cdr. Cathleen Shields, acting director of education at the center, said in a statement. "We find it's harder for servicemembers, [if they have] been deployed, because reacclimation is difficult. … Talk to your health-care team and your [school] adviser. Learn to be an advocate for yourself."
According to the DOD, a specially created panel of health, psychology and education experts devised the guide with the help of the Department of Veteran Affairs. A version of the handbook, which is more than 50 pages long, can also be printed via the center's website.