Choices Manual - Glossary on Terminology - Resources
 

Introduction

Spinal Cord Injury:  You Do Have CHOICES, why you should use this manual?

The overall goal of CHOICES is to present information that will allow the SCI survivor to be informed about acute care and the rehabilitation process and to have some sense of control over his or her life. This goal may be accomplished by informing the SCI survivors and family members about acute care, the rehabilitation process and its components, different types of rehabilitation settings, and the financial resources involved.  Moreover, this goal can be accomplished by providing information to the SCI survivor so that a person with SCI or a family member can communicate his or her concerns to the rehabilitation professional.

Other reasons why SCI survivors and family members need to read CHOICES and be informed about acute care and rehabilitation are:

¨      The newly injured person and their family members need reassurance that there is life after SCI and that rehabilitation can help.

¨      The newly injured person is often times at the mercy of the insurance providers, hospital administration, and rehabilitation staff. The rehabilitation providers and insurance providers are sometimes the gatekeepers of information and may use this information to make decisions for the person.

¨      The shortened treatment of SCI and rehabilitation require people to make decisions quickly. People with traumatic injuries and their families need information immediately after the injury to make decisions about the upcoming rehabilitation and available resources.

¨      The newly injured person may be receiving inadequate or incomplete rehabilitation and not know it.  This may affect the consumer's future health, independent living skills, and community reintegration.

¨      A person, who had rehabilitation in the past, may want to seek additional rehabilitation because of a change in a life area, health, or physiological function.     

After reading the information in the chapter(s), it is hopeful that the SCI survivor will know what options are available to him or her.

How to Make CHOICES Work for You.

Spinal Cord Injury:  You Do Have CHOICES is a guide consisting of fourteen chapters that provide information for the SCI survivor and family members through the rehabilitation process and beyond.  Before entering a particular phase in the recovery process, the SCI survivor or family member should look over the chapter that applies to that phase of the process. For example, the person who is about to start physical therapy, should read the chapter on physical therapy.  This is important so that the person is familiar with the process, aware of the person’s needs, and can communicate the person’s needs to the rehabilitation staff.

In each chapter you will find certain words that are italicized and have an asterisk * next to them. These are words that can be found in the Glossary Section.

Acknowledgements 

Special thanks to Diane Aaron of the Steve Palermo Chapter of the Kent Waldrep National Paralysis Foundation who saw the need for a resource like CHOICES.  We also extend our appreciation to the Education and Training Foundation of the Paralyzed Veterans of America for funding this project, with special advisement from Trish Armstrong and Andrea Censky-Dietrich. 

In addition, we extend our gratitude to all the chapter contributors who shared their knowledge and experience about topics which newly spinal injured patients and their families need to become better informed to make wise CHOICES. 

Finally, we wish to thank each of the reviewers who provided quality feedback regarding the accuracy and relevance of these materials to enhance positive rehabilitation outcomes in the lives of people with spinal cord injury.

                                                                        Ken Golden, Pam Willits, Glen White

                                                                        Research and Training Center on Independent Living