Articles from prior issues of The Advocate

July/August 2001

Spotlight On The Southeast/Southwest Bi-Regional Training Conference
Nashville, Tennessee May 15-18, 2001
by Sharon Summers, Southeast Regional Past-President

THE COOPERATIVE EFFORTS OF THE Tennessee Association of Disability Examiners and the Baton Rouge Association of Disability Examiners proved to be a tremendous success with attendance of approximately 200 from the Tennessee DDS and various areas of the country. There were innovative topics presented by informed speakers and opportunities for important networking.

Distinguished guests speaking at the conference from the Atlanta region included Bill McClure, Deputy Regional Commissioner. Representing the State of Tennessee were Liz Clevinger, Tennessee Area Director and Natasha Metcalf, Commissioner, Tennessee Department of Human Services. Attending on behalf of the Tennessee Division of Rehabilitation Services was Carl Brown, Assistant Commissioner. The NADE National President, Sue Heflin reported on activities and accomplishments of the national organization and recent developments affecting disability professionals across the nation. David Barnes, Director, Disability Medical/Vocational Policy Staff, SSA Office of Disability, Baltimore informed the conference attendees of upcoming changes and developments regarding the Social Security Disability Program. Tommy Warren, President, NCDDD gave a presentation on the Full Process Model in Alabama. He highlighted the ongoing refinement in SDM and related changes in the disability program. Exhibitors presented products for possible use in the Disability Program such as the use of consultative examination services to assist agencies in obtaining necessary medical information to adjudicate claims.

The conference began with a very patriotic program with the Presentation of Flags and the Pledge of Allegiance. The DDS Chorus presented a series of patriotic and inspiring songs.

The theme of the conference centered around the topic “2001-Forging New Frontiers.” In light of this theme various topics were presented from the medical and paramedical fields which were in several cases groundbreaking.

Mary Braeuner, RN from Vanderbilt University Medical Center represented one of the few centers in the world working on a groundbreaking AIDS Vaccine Evaluation. Ms. Braeuner explained that this center is primarily focused on prevention with the use of vaccines. She further noted that this method was entirely safe and does not put anyone at risk, as no strain of the virus is used in this model. The highlight of the many interesting topics was a documentary by George Davis, M.D. concerning his work with In Utero Spina Bifida Surgery. The visuals demonstrated how very complex the selection process is for candidates, the intricate procedure and the resultant effects of the surgery. Dr. Davis presented actual slides of the procedure showing the uterus being repositioned outside the mother’s body, the surgery performed and the method of replacing the uterus to the mother. The doctor detailed the elaborate process and showed the group the slide which made world news of the baby’s finger wrapped around his finger during surgery. It is noted by Dr. Davis that many mothers go on to have other normal children, however, cesarean section is necessary for delivery.

Central Auditory Processing Disorders (CAPD) was addressed by specialists from the Vanderbilt Bill Wilkerson Center. CAPD are deficits in the information processing of audible signals not attributed to impaired peripheral hearing sensitivity or intellectual impairment. Specifically, CAPD refers to limitations in the ongoing transmission, analysis, organization, transformation, elaboration, storage, retrieval, and use of information contained in audible signals. The professional responsible for diagnosing this condition is the audiologist. Some of the challenges to diagnosing this impairment is that some of the characteristics that describe CAPD are very similar to characteristics of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder. It was noted there is not a consensus regarding the battery of audiological tests to be used and interpreted related to diagnosing this condition. Certain modifications were discussed such as seating, controlling for noise, gaining the child’s attention and giving directions, the presentation of new information, checking comprehension and using additional teaching strategies. The point remains that even though the audiologist makes the initial diagnoses there has not been a consensus for diagnosing and treating CAPD.

The Tennessee Rehabilitation Center representatives discussed the work of providing vocational rehabilitation to spinal cord injury patients. Annual incidences of spinal cord injury (not including those who die at the scene) are 8-10,000 per year. The number of people in the United States alive today with spinal cord injury is estimated to be 183,000 to 400,000. The average age of a person who incurs spinal cord injury is 31.7 years old. Eighty-two percent of spinal cord injuries are male. Eighteen percent are female. Ethnic and racial statistics vary from region to region. Mechanism of injuries are showing definite trends. Overall, motor vehicle accidents account for 37.2 percent of spinal cord injuries. Acts of violence (primarily gunshot wounds) account for 26.8 percent. Falls account for 21 percent and recreational sporting activities account for 7.1 percent. Sixty-three and a half percent of people with spinal cord injury were employed at the time of the injury. By the tenth year post injury, 35.4 percent of paraplegics are employed and 23.1 percent of quadriplegics are employed. Barriers to community mobility, difficulty with daily living activities, barriers to employment and increased risk of medical complications were discussed also. The representatives also dealt with the ongoing work in the traumatic brain injury program. The mission of the program is to assist individuals that have sustained a traumatic brain injury by helping them reach their highest level of functioning so they can live and work as independently as possible.

Effective clerical team building and support staff management was presented by Janice Bush from the Tennessee DDS. Ms. Bush elaborated on the key principles that play a role in effective staff management, such as maintaining and enhancing self-esteem, listening and responding with empathy, asking for help and encourage involvement, sharing thoughts, feelings, and rationale and providing support without removing responsibility. Ms. Bush explained that the power of key principles in the workplace environments has no limits. She added that it takes leadership ability to release their energy and finely tuned skills to ensure the success of those one leads. There was discussion at the end of the session about trials and errors that produced results for those in different agencies.

Music Therapy was a topic dealing with how music is used as an aid to rehabilitation and treatment of patients. The speaker, Gloria Isaacs-Townton, MT-BC, pointed out that music is a “whole brain” experience and that music is processed by numerous centers in the brain simultaneously. An MRI of the brain taken from a person, who is listening to music, would show activity at various sites in the brain rather than just one or two. The speaker offered as an item of interest, the fact that people who have suffered traumatic head injury or CVA can often sing when they are not capable of fluent speech. This is because other areas of the brain not normally activated by speaking, but are activated by music, “multi-task” to provide some ability where previously, there was none.

Blast From the Past, presented by Don Summers, MA, LPC, LMFT, a crisis counselor for the Metropolitan Nashville Police Department, gave a thorough presentation about the effects of stress and how we are ambushed sometimes from past experiences. He went on to explain that the way we react in the present sometimes is reflective of what we have or have not yet processed emotionally.

Laughter for the Health of It was a lesson in using humor in our lives to keep from becoming too serious. The presentation centered on the use of laughter to reduce stress in the work place. The speaker, Lynn Scarborough, LCSW, who is a crisis counselor for the Metropolitan Nashville Police Department used various modalities to outline the health benefits of laughter. Ms. Scarborough carefully researched our job duties and descriptions in order to present appropriate ideas for stress-relief through humor. As our jobs become increasingly more demanding and complex, her lighthearted approach to morale-boosting is much needed.

Mary Lanigan of the Tennessee DDS instructed the audience how to navigate the SSA Information Highway System via the Internet. Ms. Lanigan gave a descriptive power-point demonstration of the various components and resources available to us on the system. She also instructed the audience about dealing with our reluctance sometimes to navigate and explore these resources. This modality is another tool the disability professional may use to enhance knowledge.

The Cooperative Disability Investigations Unit (OIG/SSA/DDS) based in Nashville presented attendees with an overview of the disability fraud prevention program now in process. The full panoply of SSA’s fraud and abuse procedures, which range from the ability to disregard evidence to potential criminal prosecution for fraud, is designed to address fraud and abuse early in the application process, before SSA makes payments to individuals who do not meet the statutory requirements to receive benefits, and to stop fraud and abuse that already has been perpetrated on the Agency. These procedures also are intended to serve as a significant deterrent to attempts to meet SSA’s statutory benefit requirements fraudulently. Moreover, the wide variety of available options provides SSA with a greater ability to appropriately tailor its response to the seriousness of the offense. Each of the tools used is a separate, but complementary, resource to aid the Agency in its battle against fraud and abuse. They are intended to work together to protect the integrity of the administrative review process and safeguard the Social Security trust funds, something every taxpayer should appreciate.

A Hospitality Suite was open for a “help yourself’ breakfast in the early morning hours before the sessions as well as in the evening hours after the sessions were completed. This proved to be an excellent setting for networking opportunities and sampling regional food with a special night for Louisiana Cajun fare. The setting afforded attendees an informal atmosphere to exchange ideas, problems and solutions about their work with the disability program. An evening excursion to the Opry Mills/Opryland Hotel area gave attendees time for sight-seeing. The President’s Reception offered a fine buffet of food and special entertainment provided by area musicians, including a drum solo artist who previously toured with the world renowned musical artist, Yanni. Charlie Adams presented a state of the art dual live/film cameo of his performance with Yanni in Live at the Acropolis.

On Thursday, an Awards Luncheon was held in order to recognize the accomplishments of various individuals within the southwest and southeast regions. Special guests included Carl Brown, Assistant Commissioner of the Tennessee Division of Rehabilitation Services, Nancie Schwiekert, M.D., Chief Medical Officer of the Tennessee DDS, Sarah Henderson, Disability Program Administrator, the officers of the southwest and the southeast regions. Special speaker for the program was Tamra L. Smith, Director of the Tennessee DDS who spoke about personal and professional achievement. Conference attendees enjoyed a lovely meal with beautiful table decorations provided by the Tennessee chapter of Minnie Pearl hats and Tennessee Titans footballs. Area musicians once again provided dinner music.

Various Regional NADE business was accomplished during certain board meetings and delegate assemblies. The next NADE regional conference will be held in Louisville, Kentucky in 2002.

The overall agenda of this conference provided attendees from the southwest and the southeast regions as well as other regions from around the country with many opportunities for broadening knowledge, improving professional skills and networking with colleagues who experience similar work related problems. It afforded them the opportunity to share ideas and find solutions that perhaps had not been developed. The added venue of doing a bi-regional conference helped each region practice professional communication skills, which had to be effective in accomplishing this task. Each attendee was charged $75.00 for registration. Each person’s fee provided breakfast, beverages and food for two breaks each day, use of the hotel facilities including the ballroom, pens and paper, programs, badges, a reception with beverages, food and entertainment, and the invaluable training sessions which were, of course, the core focus of the conference. An atmosphere conducive to learning was provided and participants were encouraged to ask questions, make comments, and carry information back to co-workers and management in their respective states. Of inestimable value, also, was the opportunity to share ideas in order to make our work more efficient and effective.

A carefully planned budget was adhered to and all bills were paid timely. Most speakers and entertainers reduced their fees to accommodate us. The luncheon and trips were funded by the attendee personally. There were 66 registered from Tennessee of these approximately 200 attendees. Much positive feedback has been received from attendees. The cost effectiveness of this training is astronomical. The caliber of the speakers was in some cases incomparable. A great amount of negotiating, deliberating, planning and effective use of the monies that were available and donated resulted in producing a fine, outstanding, reputable training conference. The Tennessee chapter is preparing a “Tips” sheet to distribute to future chapters making plans for a conference. Our conference demonstrated the importance of being open minded and progressive in teaching. It further demonstrated the invaluable impact of professional associations in the workplace for the development of leadership, social and academic knowledge in the most cost-effective manner possible.