We’ve gone global!

October 15th, 2015

Matrix Neurological has come a very long way since becoming a registered charity on 16 January 2015 and we are happy to share our biggest achievement to date. Our Chair was honoured to be invited to be one of the opening speakers at the worlds’ first International Paediatric Brain Injury Conference that was held in Liverpool on 16th – 18th September 2015. The conference was organised by the International Paediatric Brain Injury Society (IPBIS) and was supported by the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health (RCPCH).

logoIPBIS

The International Paediatric Brain Injury Society is an international organisation that

“collaborates to disseminate knowledge by developing and sharing best practices, mentoring colleagues, advancing research and promoting prevention for the benefit of children, adolescents and young adults with ABI and their families.”

The Liverpool conference was the first global event that brought together all those involved in the identification, treatment and prevention of brain injury of children, adolescents, and young adults and was attended by 400 delegates and leading professionals from around the world.

The theme of the conference was Supporting Young People and Their Families to Maximise Good Outcomes and Quality of Life. The scientific aim of the event was to explore current and innovative treatments, rehabilitation programmes, support mechanisms, and ways to improve the lives and potential of these young people and their families. The conference served as a platform for the development of Guidelines for ABI in Children and Adolescents for presentation to the World Health Organization (WHO) and the United Nations (UN) UNESCO, particularly focusing on the concept of ABI as a chronic disease process.

This event gave Matrix Neurological an international platform to promote our innovative work. Our Founder talked about her personal experiences of traumatic brain injury following her son’s climbing accident five years ago. She was also able to talk about the work of our new and innovative charity, which generated much interest and excitement from those delegates. Our website has since seen a massive increase in ‘hits’ from different countries around the world.

Some of the key messages from the keynote speakers arising from existing global best practice were the impacts of an acquired brain injury on the lives of children and young people, but even more importantly the potential for a good recovery post-injury.

Three key issues were continuously raised during the three day conference:

a) the importance of ongoing intensive neuro-rehab being essential for children and young people

b) the importance of family resilience and good parenting skills for ensuring good outcomes

c) the need to rethink how neuro-rehab services are provided for children and young people

All consistently justified our service delivery model, so you can see how we generated much excitement and interest from the conference delegates; including IPBIS, the international organisers of the conference. It transpired that we are building on well-established international best practice for paediatric neuro-rehabilitation, as well as addressing some of the key issues that are arising as a result.


Child 1 - Aged 14 and 3 years after a traumatic brain injury
2019 2020 Change
REASONING 301/800 426/800   +  125
MEMORY 181/800 304/800   +  123
ATTENTION 463/800 573/800   +  110
COORDINATION 47/800 309/800   +  262
PERCEPTION 158/800 374/800   +  216
"Positive and coordinated neuro-rehab interventions for children and young people is proven to bring health improvements; improve independence; reduces the need for sheltered living; decreases vulnerability; decreases drop-out rates in schools; decreases youth offending"
Eric Hermans; Netherlands
"Participation in teen sports and normal activities leads to improved quality of life for children and young people post brain injury and helps to maximise outcomes"
Claire Willis; Australia
"Pediatric neuro-rehabilitation cannot be delivered in isolation. The needs of the child have to be looked at both holistically and within the context of the family unit. Parents need to be empowered to be parents in post-acute pediatric neuro-rehabilitation following brain injury"
The Children's Trust; United Kingdom
"NHS clinicians struggle with what intervention to prioritise in paediatric neuro-rehabilitation due to limited clinical time and the complexity of needs. Children, clinicians, parents and schools all have different neuro-rehabilitation priorities"
Recolo; United Kingdom
"Our 10 year study proves that family-led home-based neuro-rehab interventions deliver the best outcomes for children and young people"
Lucia Braga; Brazil
"Healthy teens are better at identifying strategies to deal with barriers. KIDS WITH ABI'S CAN'T!"
Shari Wade; USA
"Often families don't have the financial capability to access services. We need to rethink how we deliver neuro-rehab services to children and young people"
Vicki Anderson; Australia
This is the best support plan we have ever seen that will deliver the best outcomes for this young person.  The costings are 'spot on' and realistic'.  Direct Payments Team.  
"When different organisations assess different aspects of a child's neuro-rehabilitation needs, everyone looks at things from a different perspective and have conflicting priorities"
Cathy Jonson; Rehab without Walls; United Kingdom.

OUR MISSION: To work to remove inequalities for children & young people affected by acquired brain injury; and provide effective support to their families that makes a real difference to their lives.

Council for Disabled Children Community Funded Charity Excellence Lottery Funded Youth Foundation BBC CiN