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Hands-on activities help Lord Mayor and guests understand brain injury consequences

Hands-on activities - including opening a bag of boiled sweets whilst wearing welding gloves and wearing sight-restricting glasses - helped Exeter's Lord Mayor to understand brain injury when she attended a special training day organised by Headway Devon

The event, which took place on Tuesday 1 April, was designed to help local politicians and decision makers in order to raise awareness of the difficulties which can be encountered by people who have sustained acquired brain injuries.

In addition to Lord Mayor Hazel Slack, the event was attended by Christina Ratcliffe, Torbay Operations Manager for Stagecoach Devon, and Giles Gardner of Devon PCT.

Our photograph shows Councillor Slack taking part in an exercise to simulate cognitive overload. With one hand in a bucket of ice and distracting instructions playing in her headphones, sorting a simple list into categories becomes much more difficult.

Everyone suffers from cognitive overload from time to time – for example trying to negotiate a busy roundabout with the car radio on whilst listening to instructions from a passenger. People with brain injuries often experience this kind of stress much more often than others.

Headway Devon training manager Paul Bird, who ran the session, said: "Brain injuries can have a wide range of consequences. Balance, vision, hearing, and thinking skills can all be affected. Some everyday tasks which most people take for granted - such as catching a bus or navigating a town centre - can be far more difficult for a person with a brain injury."

The training event was part of Action for Brain Injury Week which takes places across the country until April 6. Later in the week, on Thursday 3 April, clients, volunteers, and staff from Headway Devon's Exmouth centre will joined by Exmouth's town crier for a day of fundraising and awareness raising in the town centre. Meanwhile in Torquay, Torbay mayor Nick Bye is set to officially open Headway Devon’s South Devon centre.

Anyone who would like to hear more about the help that Headway Devon can offer to people with acquired brain injury, or would like to make a donation to the charity, should call 01392 211822 or email info@headwaydevon.org.uk.