Easter Seals Launches Nationwide Program for U.S. Service Members and Veterans Deployed to Iraq or Afghanistan with Traumatic Br...( CHICAGO Jan. 31 /- Easter Seals w...),Health

CHICAGO, Jan. 31 /PRNewswire/ -- Easter Seals, with funding from the Ludy Family Foundation and W.K. Kellogg Foundation, is launching a new nationwide program to help returning veterans with Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) through Posit Science(R) Brain Fitness Program -- an in-home, computer-based cognitive training program -- and by providing participants and their families with other essential Easter Seals services and supports.

Signature Wound, Significant Needs

Traumatic Brain Injury has become the signature wound of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Caused by exposure to blast waves from explosive devices, TBI can cause memory loss, headaches, difficulty concentrating or making decisions, slowness in thinking and communicating, mood changes, ringing in the ears, and other symptoms that can significantly disrupt relationships and undermine the potential for successful reintegration to civilian life. Army officials have recently cited that one in every nine American soldiers deployed to Iraq suffers a traumatic brain injury.

"Thousands of injured service members and veterans are returning home from Iraq and Afghanistan to communities nationwide with hopes of transitioning to a successful civilian life," says Doug Carmon, assistant vice president, Easter Seals Military and Veterans Initiatives. "However, many face gaps and barriers to access health care, job training and employment, housing, recreation, and transportation -- limiting their ability to fully participate in family and community life. They are struggling, bound to a system that is itself stressed and often ill-equipped to meet their unique needs, especially those with TBI."

According to Department of Defense statistics, there are more than 22,000 current bomb blast survivors, with TBI estimated to affect at least 25 percent. As early diagnosis of TBI can be difficult during rapid transitions from the battlefield to definitive healthcare to discharge, the incidence of T
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