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BrainSTEPS Colorado
Join BrainSTEPS CO for the 2024-25 school year.
New TEAM and NEW MEMBER training will take place on October 22nd and 23rd, 2024. To participate, please complete the application provided below, and we will contact you with further details.
Application to Join BrainSTEPS CO (PDF)
About BrainSTEPS CO
The Colorado’s BrainSTEPS CO (Strategies Teaching Educators, Parents, and Students) Brain Injury School Re-Entry Consulting Program was modeled after Pennsylvania’s BrainSTEPS program which began assisting school districts in 2007 and is considered a national model for brain injury educational consulting. Download "Why your District/BOCES Needs a BrainSTEPS CO Consulting Team" (PDF).
As a result of acquired brain injury, many students return to school with lingering effects that impact classroom performance. BrainSTEPS CO has been designed to consult with school teams and families in the development and delivery of educational services for students who have experienced acquired brain injury.
Acquired brain injuries include any injury to the brain that is sustained after birth and is not related to a congenital or degenerative disease. We have now added Congenital Brain Injuries!
- Traumatic brain injuries (injuries caused by an external force), including concussions, and
- Non-traumatic brain injuries (e.g., strokes, brain tumors, brain infections, and anoxia).
BrainSTEPS CO works not only on re-entry for students following brain injury but also with students previously identified as having a brain injury who may begin to demonstrate educational challenges over the years as the brain develops and matures.
BrainSTEPS CO teams:
- Consult with schools regarding IDEA identification, IEP/504 Plan development, possible interventions, and implementation based on the Building Blocks of Brain Development© framework. Teams also consult on school re-entry planning and other issues school professionals face in supporting students with brain injuries.
- Provide consultation and/or education to parents of any student with brain injury referred to the team and ongoing communication regarding services the team is providing for the student.
- Monitor students annually until graduation for the manifestation of new cognitive/behavioral/social issues related to brain injury.
- Disseminate brain injury resource information (e.g., written information, links to websites, referrals to community resources, etc.) to educators, families, and community providers working with students with brain injury.
- Provide training on the educational implications of brain injury to educators as well as the local community (e.g., parent, medical, rehabilitation).
Brochure and Best Practices
Current BrainSTEPS CO Teams
- Academy 20 School District
- Adams 12
- Aspen School District
- Aurora Public Schools
- Boulder Valley School District
- Centennial BOCES
- Cherry Creek School District
- Colorado River BOCES
- Denver Public Schools
- Douglas County School District
- Eagle County School District
- East Central BOCES
- Fort Morgan RE-3
- Fountain‐Fort Carson School District 8
- Harrison 2 School District
- JeffCo Public Schools
- Littleton Public Schools
- Mapleton Public Schools
- Mesa County Valley School District
- Moffat County School District
- Montrose School District
- Poudre School District
- Pueblo County District 70
- Roaring Fork School District
- San Juan BOCES
- School District 27J
- School District 49
- St. Vrain Valley School District
- Thompson Schools
- Ute Pass BOCES
- Weld RE-4
- Weld RE-6
Jody Dickerson, MN, BSN
BrainSTEPS CO Program Coordinator
Phone: (720) 795-2273
Email Jody Dickerson
Toni Grishman, RN, BSN
BrainSTEPS CO Program Coordinator
Web: Health and Wellness - Brain Injury
P (303) 524-4321
Email Toni Grisham
BrainSTEPS is a joint project between the Colorado Mindsource Brain Injury Network and the Colorado Department of Education.
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