"Brain Injury Partners: Navigating the School System," an interactive, multi-media interevention, is now available on-line free of charge. The easy-to-use website is designed to give parents of school-aged children with a brain injury the skills they need to become successful advocates.

This program was evaluated in a clinical trial with 174 parents of school- aged children with brain injury. Results showed that family members found the skills and materials in the program very helpful in making meetings at school more successful.

"Brain Injury Partners: Navigating the School System" allows parents to:

- Learn advocacy skills in an engaging, self-paced format to learn ways to communicate better with school staff in order to get what is needed for their child. The 5-lesson tutorial on advocacy skills comes complete with realistic video examples.

- Apply easy-to-use, practical tools to help organize records, prepare for meetings, set goals, and keep track of progress.

- Explore resources and information on Individualized Educational Plans

(IEP)/504 plans, post-school transition, and legal support.

- Develop strategies to prevent burnout, better cope with guilt and grief, and understand the unique challenges faced by families.

The free training can be accessed at:

Consider sharing this resource with your TBI Statewide Advisory Board/Council, your State's Departments of Education and Special Education, and family advocacy groups such as Family Voices.

The program was funded by the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development and created in collaboration with the Brain Injury Association of America.