What the heck is 'rewiring the brain' anyways?

This is a very good story. http://www.usatoday.com/news/health/2006-07-03-brain-rewired_x.htm It gives a lot of people with brain injuries hope. Those people wonder, though, how did he do it? "I want to do that." Well you are, sort of.

I saw something about me, "...a testament to the immense amount of plasticity that the brain is capable of." http://www.sciple.org/neuroflocks11/day0.html
 

My brain did it! How?

"What is neuroplasticity, though? It has to be easy so I can understand."

The words "neuroplasticity" and "rewiring the brain" are the same.

Semantics

I saved this definition, but the source is no longer there. Many programs operate under this. Some diagnoses I've seen make me wonder, because they are developmental in nature and I know the injury did not occur before age 18.

The condition must have begun prior to

age 18. The purpose of this criterion is to emphasize that

mental retardation is a developmental disability (the word

"retard" means to slow or delay). Therefore, a person who

suffers a stroke or a serious head injury during adulthood

would probably be considered to have a traumatic brain injury

and not mental retardation.

The right diagnosis is needed for financial and programming purposes.

Down and Out

Down and Out

Well you are down and out. You lost your job because of your condition. Now you have no money or insurance. You can't pay rent, but you have friends or family to stay with, or maybe you have a car to live in.
 

"Just 'til I get back on my feet," you say. Before that happens, and before it gets worse:

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1. You'll need a permanent mailing address. A family member who has a house is best. You'll always be related and owning a house means it's long-term. You'll need the address to receive monthly assistance.

2 Go to your local welfare office and apply for homeless aid.

3. While there apply for Medicaid http://braininjuryknow.blogspot.com/2010/11/medicaid-govt-program.html They have a disability program, tell the worker to apply for this at the same time. If you have children there is a second automatic one, but it's only good if  the kid is with you and under 18.

4. I'm not sure what all your county will give for homeless, but it usually includes foodstamps. Those who receive these have learned alternative ways to use them.

5. Once you take care of immediate needs you need to get on SSI or SSDI. This will be a different office, most likely a different building.

Read To Me

When that person you love is in the hospital, maybe unconscious, and definitely not able to talk to you, what do you do for them?

Read to me.

Get a book. Humor or Inspirational are good.

 Maybe a joke book.

The local paper always works.

Some like their horoscope.

You'll always have something new with a newspaper.

 UPDATED:  2/27/2018

 

Fuel To The Fire

 I always say "Keep doing the exercises after rehab." Here's why. This is my before picture:

Now, after one week of exercise. I did 2, 3, and 4 from http://braininjuryknow.blogspot.com/2010/11/oral-motor-exercises.html.

You can see more muscle definition on my face.  Specifically, on the left side of the picture, there's now a line running from my nose to my mouth.

So, it's definitely important to keep doing the exercise after rehab. I'm adding this one back to the others I do.


*update

It's been 3 weeks, not even a month, and I can

I haven't been able to lift one side of my top lip in 9 years.

One Hand to Type

Hit the shift key 5 times. Select YES at the prompt to turn on Sticky Keys. You can then SHIFT to capitalize a letter. You can also use keys like CTRL. Just hit it prior to the key you want shifted. It will make a sound.

If you need other things, you can go to the EASE OFACCESS. It can be in different places on different computers, Go to START and do a search. I used to have mine make a sound when I hit a key and some other things.

 Updated 3-18-2014

The Wonders of Silly Putty

Remember this stuff? It was moldable like clay, yet it had wondrous properties. You could press it on a comic and it would copy the image. Of course we'd then stretch it, distorting the image. The following is from sillyputty.com (yes this stuff has its own site):

Silly Putty is a pretty unique substance. It stretches without breaking, yet it can be "snapped off" cleanly. It bounces higher than a rubber ball. It floats if you shape it in a certain way, yet sinks in others. It can pick up pencil marks from pages and comics from some newspapers. If you slam it with a hammer, it keeps it shape, yet if you push with light, even pressure, it will flatten with ease. Gravity has a slow, yet devastating effect on Silly Putty creations.
With all of these unique properties, it's no wonder people are puzzled (yet love to play with) Silly Putty.

Your brain is like this- moldable like clay, but with wondrous properties. The brain adapts to its situations and surroundings. Much like Silly Putty can be shaped. Remember taking Silly Putty to a comic or newsprint to make a copy? Your brain does the same (imprints information). Bouncing...have you (or your mind) ever bounced off the walls? Your imagination can probably do all of Silly Putty's wondrous properties.

So that leads me to the question of brain injury-will it ever be like it used to be? To answer that, just look at the Silly Putty. Can it be taken out of the package, played with, and some gone, and still be sold as new? I don't think so. But it can still be molded, shaped, played with, and retain most, maybe all, of its properties.