USA Hosts Alabama Head Injury Foundation Camp
Posted on June 30, 2025 by CAHP
The Pat Capps Covey College of Allied Health Professions at the University of South
Alabama partnered with the Alabama Head Injury Foundation for a three-day Bright Ideas
Traumatic Brain Injury Camp for survivors and families dealing with life-altering
injuries.
The multidisciplinary effort offers workshop sessions for attendees, including 16 clients and 15 caregivers, that provide new methods, strategies and technologies to help improve their quality of life. Graduate students from South’s Occupational Therapy, Physical Therapy, Speech-Language Pathology and Audiology programs led numerous collaborative activities during the camp, allowing them to learn clinical skills within their discipline while also learning the scope of care from other disciplines.
“Going into it I was nervous and apprehensive about how it would go, but it turned out to be one of the most enjoyable weeks I’ve had in PT school,” Winston Fleming, physical therapy student, said. “Our team created such a great bond with our client that it made it hard to say goodbye once the three days were over.”
“This camp helped me understand the intricacies of what PT, OT and SLPs do,” Gina Mejia, audiology student, said. “This experience has readied me to make knowledgeable and meaningful referrals when I notice a client may need extra support from my allied health colleagues.”
Undergraduate recreational therapy students in the Department of Health, Kinesiology and Sport in the College of Education and Professional Studies an
d graduate students in the Department of Psychology in the College of Arts and Sciences also supported this camp.
While testing their skills during each activity, USA students also reviewed each client’s progress through various types of therapy and helped establish what they could work on to improve their abilities. Each client went home with a therapy plan designed to meet their specific needs.
“We learned a lot about TBI (traumatic brain injuries) and SCI (spinal cord injuries) in class, but during the camp, I was able to see how these conditions actually present in real life. The client I worked with provided insight into living with a spinal cord injury and shared important safety tips based on personal experience,” Makyah Denson, occupational therapy student, said.
I also gained a better understanding of the roles and scopes of practice of the other healthcare professionals at the camp. One thing I realized is that someone can have a TBI and you might never know. It was amazing to see and really showed me how much the brain can recover.”
The Alabama Head Injury Foundation has partnered with several universities across the state of Alabama. These therapy-based camps utilize students while they develop action plans for survivors and caregivers seeking to improve their adjustment to living with traumatic brain injuries.