The coping strategies class, a vital part of the Acquired Brain Injury (ABI) Program, will not be available for spring 2012. The SRJC program, which provides academic support for students with brain injuries, serves more than 150 students each semester.
“It was a decision made after much discussion by the faculty in the Disability Resource Department,” said Dean of Disabled Students Programs and Services Patie Wegman, “They considered a number of factors including the low enrollment during the last several spring terms.”
The coping strategies class helps students learn how to work with the disabilities that their injuries may have caused. “I didn’t realize I had a brain injury. The coping skills class really opened my eyes to it,” said Brian Heauser SRJC student and member of the ABI program. “It taught me about how to make a schedule, and changed me from someone who has trouble doing the day-to-day to someone who is functional.”
Many of the students who enrolled in the coping strategies class are members of the Acquired Brain Injury Student’s (ABIS) club. While unavailable this spring, the class will return in fall 2012. “Without the class, the club is responsible for course materials, as well as running meetings. I feel the weight of the responsibilities,” said Julie Levine, ABIS club president.
ABIS was founded by a group of students who completed the coping strategies class and decided there should be more support from peers for those who have gone through the same experience.
The ABIS club provides a comfortable atmosphere in which Acquired Brain Injury students are able to socialize, develop leadership skills and promote brain injury awareness for colleges and communities. The club offers opportunities for students to attend weekly meetings, participate in club-sponsored activities and hold elected positions. The club’s mission is to support and promote opportunities for socialization and to educate. The club’s motto is, “Be excellent to each other.”
The club ventures into understanding not only how to cope with disabilities in a school setting but also how to face disabilities in everyday life. The student-run club allows for peer support and for a friendship that does not judge. “I made a lot of friends and they helped me with support,” Levine said.