Keynote Speakers

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Re-Thinking Rehabilitation: Helping People Become the "Me" They Want To Be

For decades brain injury rehabilitation has focused on the physical and medical aspects of recovery of function; as a result, rehabilitation has been viewed as an endeavor that is driven by clinicians and professionals who work with patients to overcome disabilities. It’s past time to look beyond this kind of rehabilitation. This presentation is an invitation to rethinking what constitutes “good” rehabilitation. Good rehabilitation is more than overcoming disabilities. It includes helping people to learn to manage the realities of change and figuring out how to live changed lives (the “habilitation” in rehabilitation). Good rehabilitation is inclusive and requires reorienting from person-centered to person-driven plans. Good rehabilitation focuses on hope and optimism. Good rehabilitation recognizes the importance of experimentation, accepting the right to risk, and realizing that we are probably wrong about a lot of stuff. Good rehabilitation helps people live meaningful lives.

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About Tim Feeney, Ph.D.

Tim Feeney is the Chief Knowledge Officer for Belvedere Health Services in Albany, NY and the Founder and Director of the Mill School in Winooski, Vermont. Tim has assisted numerous agencies around the world in the development of system-wide changes in order to provide sustainable, high quality, and cost-effective educational and rehabilitation services. He has authored over 75 journal articles and book chapters, is co-author, with the late great Mark Ylvisaker, of the book Collaborative Brain Injury Intervention: Positive Everyday Routines, and happily talks to anyone who’s interested about collaborative services designed to support individuals with complex needs. All of Tim’s degrees are in psychology and he hopes that you don’t hold this against him.

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The Data of Daily Life: Why Real-World Testing Matters in Brain Injury Assessment

As a rehabilitation community, it is critical that our assessment of people with brain injury captures the data of life. For people with brain injury, utilizing assessment time effectively, and getting an accurate functional snapshot of their life requires a nuanced and complex assessment that evaluates how people function in real-world scenarios. Conventional medical and cognitive testing, while appropriate as a pillar of a comprehensive assessment, can be inappropriate when used as a stand-alone approach. Performance on these traditional tests in controlled settings may show stability for individuals that still struggle with chronic fatigue, memory issues, cognitive inefficiencies, and ultimately challenges with returning to pre-injury roles.

Ecologically valid assessment is the measurement of a person’s abilities in real-life situations rather than in a controlled or artificial setting such as an office or clinic. While it takes into account the severity of brain injury and symptomology, the focus is on how these translate into daily activities that people need, want, or are expected to do. Ecologically valid testing is a critical component of multidisciplinary assessment as it helps capture challenges that might not show up on traditional tests but affect daily life, making the results clinically useful to treatment teams, and those undergoing medico-legal evaluations.

The Ontario Brain Injury Association’s conference theme is about Innovation and Expertise. This talk advocates for functionally relevant assessment and aims to elucidate the art and science of ecologically-valid testing. It is only with this holistic approach to brain injury assessment that we can galvanize, as treatment providers, caregivers, family members, and medico-legal experts, to identify real-world barriers and address future implications for treatment and legal decisions.

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About Melissa Paniccia, Ph.D., OT Reg. (Ont.)

Dr. Melissa Paniccia is a registered Occupational Therapist with over a decade of clinical expertise in brain injury, mental health, and medico-legal assessments. She holds an Honours Bachelor of Science in Behavioural Biology, a Master’s of Science in Occupational Therapy, and a PhD in Rehabilitation Sciences and Neuroscience from the University of Toronto. She completed a postdoctoral fellowship at Holland Bloorview Kids Rehabilitation Hospital, focusing on developing pediatric concussion guidelines.

As a Medical-Legal consultant, Dr. Paniccia specializes in Catastrophic Determination and Accident Benefit assessments for both plaintiff and defense. She developed a curriculum for occupational therapists conducting mental behavioural catastrophic impairment assessments and has served as an expert witness before the License Appeal Tribunal.

Dr. Paniccia has actively contributed to research, publishing numerous peer-reviewed articles, and leads professional educational endeavours. She has presented locally, nationally, and internationally on brain injury, fatigue management, and mental health. She is the first Occupational Therapist appointed to the Board of Directors for the Medico-Legal Society of Toronto and represents Occupational Therapy on the Coalition of Health Professions in Auto Insurance.

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The Hidden Epidemic of Hypoxic Brain Injury in Non-Fatal Unregulated Opioid Poisoning: Addressing Survivors' Needs

Canada’s overdose crisis has ignited a hidden epidemic of hypoxic brain injuries: for every fatal overdose, an estimated 15 survivors suffer oxygen‑deprivation damage, suggesting over 600,000 cases of opioid-related hypoxic brain injury nationwide since 2016. Street fentanyl and its analogues act on the brainstem to depress respiration; within minutes of hypoxia or anoxia, neurons die or incur lasting injury. Survivors commonly experience deficits in attention, memory, motor coordination, emotional regulation, and executive functions, and these impairments can perpetuate substance use, complicate treatment engagement, and undermine self‑awareness.

Despite this burden, hypoxic brain injury after overdose remains under‑recognized. Any loss of consciousness signals potential injury, yet routine screening is rare. Stigma and the private nature of most overdoses limit medical evaluation; even among hospitalized cases, only 4.2 percent receive an anoxic brain injury diagnosis. Consequently, many survivors lack formal diagnosis, brain‑injury rehabilitation access, or referral pathways amidst siloed mental‑health and addiction services.

Our BC Consensus study involving diverse stakeholders (i.e., survivors, caregivers, providers, researchers and policymakers), highlighted the complexity of long‑term acquired brain injury needs, chronic under‑funding, and inadequate housing supports. Participants called for holistic service models featuring clear referral pathways, coordinated navigation, and sustained community‑based supports, which have demonstrated to be effective.

To curb this hidden epidemic, both reducing stigma (through education and awareness campaigns) and prevention efforts (Naloxone distribution, rescue breathing, and supervised consumption sites) remain paramount. Bill C‑277 started to create momentum toward a national brain‑injury strategy with enhanced, integrated mental‑health resources. But it stalled during the transition of Government.

In this presentation, I will discuss the mechanisms of action of fentanyl, the effects of damage, the interactions between brain injury, mental health and addictions we have identified and how the vicious cycle is established. To end, I will discuss the work we have completed as part of the BC Consensus.

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About Mauricio Garcia-Barrera, Ph.D.

Born in Medellín, Colombia, Dr. Garcia-Barrera is a neuropsychologist and professor at the University of Victoria (BC, Canada), where he founded the CORTEX Lab in 2008, a leading research facility focused on the neural and behavioral foundations of executive functioning. His research examines how cognitive processes are influenced by life experiences, from positive factors like sports participation and leadership roles to negative impacts such as brain injury and their intersections with mental health and addiction.

He is currently serving as Associate Dean Research & Graduate Studies for the Faculty of Social Sciences at UVic. Dr. Garcia-Barrera is also a Registered Psychologist in BC and Associate Editor of the APA journal Psychological Assessment. Recognized for his contributions to neuropsychology and education, he was honored as one of the Top 10 Most Influential Hispanic Canadians in 2022 by the ILAC Education Group in Toronto—an award personally acknowledged by the Prime Minister of Canada.

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Singing in the Rain: Using Curiosity, Creativity, and Courage to Navigate Life's Storms

Lisa Griffiths and her six-year-old child were injured in separate accidents a year apart. Seven years later, they take the stage together to talk about their individual and intertwined journeys, sharing the incredible impact the injuries have had on their lives. Reflecting on their experiences in dual roles as survivor/caregiver and survivor/family member, Lisa and her now-teenaged child share their stories of pain, loss, rehabilitation, and the determination to keep going when life hands you an unthinkable set of circumstances.

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About Lisa Griffiths & her child, Caregiver/Survivor

Arts executive Lisa Griffiths held leadership positions with organizations like The Royal Conservatory of Music, Toronto Symphony Orchestra, and Toronto Children’s Chorus. As a musician, Lisa performed with the Toronto, Winnipeg, and Kitchener-Waterloo Symphonies among many orchestras, choirs, and summer festivals.

Unexpectedly, Lisa needed to change her focus to caring for herself and her child post-injuries. What is viewed in society as Lisa being “off work” for years has been her most demanding and significant period as patient, caregiver, case manager, litigation guardian, and navigator of medical, legal, family, and social systems.

Lisa is thrilled to have rehabilitated enough to go back to school and is currently a student at Columbia University in the Narrative Medicine program. She is on the path to reinventing her career, with the goal of marrying her years producing creative content and her unexpected lived experience to help others in the acquired brain injury space, be they survivors, caregivers, or the professionals who dedicate their careers to helping people like her and her child.

Lisa and her child are each encouraged and inspired by the other’s resilience and progress, and they celebrate all signs of healing with ice cream.