Read Time - 3 minutes
Reflections from the 44th Annual Brain Injury Conference in Massachusetts.
I sat in a room filled with brain injury survivors and I left more convinced than ever that the future of human services will not be shaped by policy and care alone.
It will be shaped by the systems and environments we are willing to build around the people we support.
Here are my 2 key takeaways from the 44th Annual Brain Injury Conference in Massachusetts:
#1: People are ready to engage with AI more than we realize.
Conversations around the use of AI sparked keen interest by survivors who made immediate connections to real life needs and struggles...
Challenges | What they need |
|---|---|
“I always leave my doctor’s appointments forgetting half of what was said.” | An AI tool that captures and summarizes each conversation, making it easy to revisit the important details later. |
“I love reading magazines, but I’m a slow reader and sometimes need more time to fully take things in.” | An AI tool that reads content out loud and helps them follow along more easily, so reading feels enjoyable instead of frustrating. |
“I keep forgetting things I know I shouldn’t be forgetting, like my monthly tea with friends. I’m tired of always showing up late.” | An AI tool that keeps track of their schedule, sends timely reminders, and helps them stay organized so they feel in control again. |
The bigger question was not whether these tools exist. It was whether there are enough resources and training available to help survivors of brain injury learn how to use them in their day-to-day lives.
In many cases, the gap is not the technology itself. It is the lack of systems for introducing, teaching, and sustaining the use of these tools for both survivors and the people supporting them.
2#. You cannot design effective support systems without the people they are meant to support.
Hearing directly from survivors did not just shape my thinking. It challenged it.
The systems that work are not the ones built only for people. They are the ones built with them. Co-design is not a preference. It is a design requirement that changes everything about how we design:
― Care plans,
― ISP goals,
― PBS Plans
― Training models,
― The operational infrastructure behind the programs.
Janet M Williams, CEO of Minds Matter LLC, emphasized this clearly in her keynote. But it was the survivors in the room who proved it.
The real takeaway from this conference is not just a list of tools or best practices. It is this: the human services sector has a systems problem.
We have care teams, the passion, the intention, and assistive technology.
What we are missing is the deliberate architecture that connects all of it and keeps it working for the people at the center.
This is where we need to focus.
