About Us
Welcome to CBIRT: Center on Brain Injury Research & Training
Established in 1993 at the Teaching Research Institute, a division of Western Oregon University, CBIRT conducts research and training to improve the lives of children and adults with traumatic brain injury (TBI). CBIRT’s research focuses on developing interventions to improve outcomes related to education, employability, and quality of life. Our training activities promote the use of best practices among educators and other professionals who serve individuals with TBI.
Areas of research include:
- collaborating with schools and hospitals to improve the hospital-to-school re-entry process,
- tracking educational outcomes of students following TBI,
- helping families and educators work together to improve school services for students post-TBI,
- developing interventions to improve social relationships for students with TBI,
- tracking the transition of youth with TBI from school to adult roles, and
- providing systematic instruction in assistive technology to improve outcomes and quality of life for adults with TBI.
In collaboration with the Oregon Department of Education, CBIRT coordinates the TBI Education Consulting Team, an interdisciplinary team of school professionals who consult with Oregon educators. The team’s training and technical assistance activities, grounded in field-based research, have established CBIRT as a national leader in the provision of school-based services to students with TBI.
CBIRT also facilitates the work of OCAMP, the Oregon Concussion Awareness and Management Program. The goal of OCAMP (with representation from medical, athletic, certified athletic training, and education professionals) is to create and implement systematic guidelines for supporting students as they return to full participation in athletics and academics after sustaining a concussion.
Partners in these endeavors include individuals with TBI, family members, professionals who serve individuals with TBI, the Oregon Department of Education, local hospitals, and research colleagues throughout the United States and Canada.
