The following quotes were provided by Peta Ferguson and Francesca Lee, former and present President of Brain Injury Matters (BIM).
“Acquired Brain Injury (ABI) can be so many different things and have so many effects including physical impact . . . the need for walking sticks and wheel chairs to the unseen effects such as tiredness, memory, noise sensitivity and light sensitivity.”
“One of the effects is tiredness . . . it is of paramount importance to some people with ABI to have meetings in the morning and regular breaks.”
“Some brain injuries impact on speech it can be all areas of speech such as speed and tone. I can’t emphasise anything I don’t have any modulation. Because of this people make presumptions about you before getting to know you”
“People can be talking at you and fast while you are still trying to think of what you are going to say and then you’ve lost your train of thought.”
“They think because you sound stupid they think you are like a child. They talk over you.”
“ABI is called the invisible disability because sometimes people assume if you can walk and talk you are O.K.”
“It is important to make sure all participants on a committee are aware of ABI and its components. Prior to the meeting have the person run a session about ABI.”
“Ask the person if they need regular breaks, make sure you don’t talk over people, record minutes using dot points and don’t go off topic . . .these are my tips”
“A lot of information can be confusing, talking about different projects it can be hard to follow and confusing.”
“Make sure the chair follows the agenda and gives everyone a chance to speak and say how they feel.”
Meeting Tips from consumer advocates:
Amanda’s Top Tips
Chapter 5. Inclusive Meetings
5.1: Inclusive Meetings - Roll Out the Welcome MatMenu: Consumer Participation Kit