POTSDAM -- St. Lawrence NYSARC hosts a Disability Awareness Conference focusing on traumatic brain injury on Oct. 5 and 6 at SUNY Potsdam’s Knowles Multi-Purpose Room.

The conference will feature experts Dr. Jeanne Ryan and Dr. Tim Feeney.

Jeanne Ryan is presenting on Oct. 5 and will speak on, “TBI: The Process of Recovery.” She will speak on the changes in brain functioning following traumatic brain injury and the recovery process related to cognitive rehabilitation. Ryan, a SUNY Plattsburgh professor, is the director of the Traumatic Brain Injury Center, which serves the greater North Country region.

Tim Feeney will provide a day-long session Oct. 6 titled, “Helping People without Making them Helpless.” The presentation provides information on self regulation as the goal of supporting people with complex needs. Feeney is the executive director of School and Support, Inc. and cinical director of the New York Neurobehavioral Resource Project. He co-authored the book “Collaborative Brain Injury Intervention: Positive Everyday Routines.”

Sessions will run from 12:30 to 3:30 p.m. Oct. 5 and from 9 .m. to 4 p.m. Oct. 6.

Full details and registration forms are available at www.slnysarc.org, or contact Michelle Quinell, Director of Community Relations, 386-3529 or mquinell@slnysarc.org. Registrations are requested by Sept. 29.

According to the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC,) there are approximately 1.7 million people in the U.S. who suffer from a traumatic brain injury each year. 52,000 people die from TBI annually and 275,000 are hospitalized, while 1.365 million are treated and released from the hospital. In the U.S., more than 5.3 million people live with disabilities caused by TBI.